


What is Real (A Comfortember Fic)

by happyaspie



Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [12]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Adopted Peter Parker, Comfortember, Dead May Parker (Spider-Man), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Food Issues, Hand Wavy Medical Logic, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Peter Parker, Kidnapping, Mentions of Captivity and Mental Abuse, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Not Canon Compliant, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker Has Nightmares, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker has PTSD, Platonic Bed Sharing, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Forehead Kisses, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Recovery, The Author is Not a Doctor or a Therapist, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 37,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27107386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happyaspie/pseuds/happyaspie
Summary: For weeks Tony searched for Peter but once he finally has his adopted son back in his arms he realizes how long of a road they have ahead of them.Or:After being kidnapped and subsequently mentally tormented Peter is left feeling anxious and afraid.   Tony is there, as always, to help him pick himself up again.*Posting daily for the month of November*
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Spider-man Stories: Not Otherwise Specified [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1574956
Comments: 413
Kudos: 399
Collections: 2.0Marvel, Comfortember 2020





	1. Day 1- Prompt 1: Rescue

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I'm so excited to share this fic with you! But before we get started here are a few notes!
> 
> * I chose to turn the Comfortember prompts into one continuous fic but I did not do the prompts in order! The chapter names will note what prompt I've chosen for the day.
> 
> *I'll be posting daily until the end of the month and because of that, the chapters are pretty short. Most of them average around 1,200 words but some are a little longer while a few are shorter. 
> 
> *I'm sorry I killed Aunt May! I don't do it often but... It just _worked_ with this one. (I love Aunt May. Please forgive me)

Peter had been missing for three weeks, five days, and eleven hours. Three weeks, five days, and eleven hours agonizingly long hours that had Tony beside himself. The worst part of it was that it, in a way, it felt like it was, at least partially, his own damn fault. He Knew that when May had died and it had been suggested that he take the teenager in, that it was probably a very bad idea. The problem was that he loved the kid so damn much that he refused to see him placed with anyone but him because, despite the horrible circumstances, the idea that he could have Peter with him, in his home and under his care for the rest of his life sounded like a dream come true.

And it had been for the first several months. Then the media found out that Tony Stark had taken over guardianship of a teenaged boy from Queens. He'd been furious that the information had been leaked but all in all but not terribly worried. Peter was Spider-man. He had super strength and a sixth sense that told him when he was in danger among his other unique talents. There was no reason to worry until there was.

Tony had been well aware of the fact that Spider-man had picked up a new recurring enemy. However, like most of the characters that the kid fought he's seemed like more of a nuisance than a threat. He'd watched, periodically, through the lens of the baby-monitor footage as Peter toyed with the man before eventually webbing him up and warning him to 'play nice' in the future. I was almost as if it were a game for both of them. Though it didn't take long for it to become very clear that their dynamic was escalating.

The villain became more and more aggressive. The playful banter became harsh words and the haphazard attacks became more precise. He had sighed in relief when it appeared as though Peter had finally had enough and had decided to put an end to the cat and mouse routine. He'd told the man, mid-fight that he didn't plan on simply webbing him down anymore. He was going to notify the police. 

That statement caused the villain to fall into a rage but even with a suit on standby, Tony couldn't get to the kid fast enough. The last thing that he'd heard was the aggressor telling his boy that he knew his true identity. That he knew that Peter Parker- 'Stark's kid' was the one under the mask.

It was then that Tony realized that they weren't after Spider-man, they were after his son and he nearly vomited at the connotation. However, that wave of intense anxiety was quickly replaced with pure dread when all of a sudden, out of nowhere at all, the footage cut out and Peter disappeared off the map. 

_Just like that, his son was gone._

For over three weeks, Tony searched high and low using every resource he had, including the Avengers. He complied stacks of useless information, tracked unsuccessful leads, and sat through every single one of the heart-wrenching videos that the captors sent to him. The worst part was that even after all that time, they'd yet to tell him what they wanted. It seemed that they were perfectly content to drag out the process. It was as if it were their goal to make him feel increasingly desperate and it was working. He was right on the edge of a complete mental breakdown when the final piece to the puzzle landed in his hands. 

It wasn't easy but they had a location. All of the sleepless nights spent analyzing the horrifying videos and intensively combing through the encrypted messages had finally paid off. He was getting Peter back. He was sure of it.

Between himself, and every single one of the Avengers, they were in and out of the underground bunker in less than an hour. The frighteningly advanced holographic imaging tech had been seized and Peter was finally in his arms.

While the rest of the team rounded up the captors, Tony held his boy's limp body in his arms while Bruce, with FRIDAY's assistance, removed the implant that had been placed in the teenager's neck to suppress his powers and sedate him at will. With that out of the way, he spent the remainder of the flight gently and quietly wiping caked dirt and dried blood from Peter's face. Part of him wished that the kid would hurry up and open his eyes, while the other part hoped that he stayed asleep until after Cho finished what was sure to be a thorough exam. 

Eventually, the plane landed and Tony began to descend the steps still cradling Peter against his own body. He refused to allow anyone else to carry him. He'd just gotten his boy back. He wasn't ready to let him go. 

"You already took the suit off, Tony. And I know he's not exactly light. Let me take him for you," Steve had pleaded but Tony had adamantly declined. Peter was his and he was going to be the one to take care of him, carry him, hold him, and comfort him. He wouldn't have it any other way.

  
"You're going to be okay, Buddy. I'm going to make sure of it," Tony whispered as he lay his unconscious son's too-thin-body down on a medical bed, removed his soiled clothing, and replaced them with a pristine hospital gown. "You're safe now and I'm going to make sure you stay that way," he promised before collapsing into the chair directly beside the bed. "You're home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this was a short start but there will be more tomorrow. So, stay tuned folks! And let me know what you think so far in the comments! 
> 
> As always, Thank you for reading!!


	2. Day 2 - Prompt 2: First Day/Night

When Peter first woke up it was with a start. The last thing he remembered was being terrorized with fabricated images ranging from the decomposing bodies of everyone he loved to thousands of insects aggressively swarming towards him. Each one preceded by a promise that it was genuine and even though that had been a lie each and every time, he could never seem to fully convince himself that what he was seeing was anything but authentic. It looked real. It felt real. It even smelled real.

All of that made waking up wearing seemingly clean clothes while laying in a seemingly soft bed terrifying. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to prepare himself for the moment that his captors would come into the room disguised as Tony, Happy, one of the avengers, or even May. They had done it before. Many times, and he wouldn't put it past them to do it again. They would attempt to make him believe that he had been rescued only to dissolve the image moments later so that that could laugh as he fell apart. He wasn't going to let that happen this time. Then he heard a door click up and braced himself when he saw the face of his adoptive father.

"Stop! Don't come near me!" he frantically shouted the moment someone who appeared to be Tony came out of what looked like an adjoining bathroom. "You're not real! I know you're not real! You can't trick me anymore!"

Tony's heart raced as he froze in place. He'd seen recordings of the captors taunting the kid with gruesome holographic images and realistic depictions of the people he cared about the most, yet it had never occurred to him that those experiences would hinder the teenager's ability to recognize that he'd woken up somewhere safe. It should have though, that made sense and he was suddenly kicking himself for not being more prepared. He didn't like feeling as though he were grasping at straws, especially when it came to his boy. He was supposed to be better than that.

  
"It's me, kiddo. It's Tony. Mr. Stark. You're at the Tower now. You're safe," Tony said while holding his hand's up in the air in an attempt to come off as least threatening as possible. He could see the way his boy was looking at him so fearfully and it was crushing. He found himself wanting to look away but he couldn't bring himself to do it. 

"No, you're not!" Peter screamed back but he couldn't stop the tears that had flooded his eyes in the process. He so badly wanted to believe that it was Tony and that he really was safe. He would give nearly anything for it to be true. "If you're really him, then tell me something only he would know," he demanded between sobs.

Tony took a deep breath and thought for a few seconds before he spoke. "Do you remember the first time you ever came to work with me in my lab? I told you to take care of your suit while I took care of the music. I had FRIDAY start playing Back in Black and you turned around all excited and said 'I love Led Zepplin' and I told you to get out of my lab. Except I didn't mean it. I did give you a serious Rock 101 lesson, though. There was a quiz and everything," he rambled, fully prepared to talk himself blue in the face if it meant earning his boy's trust. 

As Tony spoke, Peter took it all in and nodded his head slowly. What the man was saying was not only correct but also specific enough for him to relax. Then suddenly he found himself overcome with a completely different emotion. "Mr. Stark?" he practically whimpered.

"Yeah, Buddy. It's me," Tony replied in relief. "Can I touch you now?"

Without a second thought, Peter nodded his head and waited for Tony to engulf him in a warm, safe hug. "It's really you. You came for me," he whispered as he rubbed his face in the soft material of his guardian's t-shirt and breathed him in. 

"Of course, I came for you, Pete. I'll always come for you," Tony insisted while holding his boy close and rubbing his hands up and down his back in a soothing manner. 

"I'm still so tired," Peter murmured. He had no idea how long he'd been left sedated, when he'd been rescued or how long he'd been asleep in that bed but it seemed like he should have felt more rested than he did. Then again, he'd been in defense mode for what felt like a very long time. Perhaps, now that he finally felt safe, his body was just ready to crash.

"I'm sure you are, Kiddo. You've been through a lot and your body is trying to heal," Tony whispered moving one hand from the kid's back up to his greasy hair. "You can go back to sleep if you want to and when you wake up next, we'll let Cho look you over one more time so that we can go home," he said, choking a little on the last word. _Home._ God, he wanted his boy to be home.

"Will you still be here when I wake up, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked with trepidation. Then another thought crossed his mind and he whimpered slightly. "Will this still be real?"

"This will still be real" Tony reassured before nudging the boy over and laying down beside him in the bed "-and I'm not going anywhere. Let's just get some sleep."


	3. Day 3 - Prompt 16: Protective

Peter slept for another few hours before his eyes once again snapped open and his heart began to beat so heavily in his chest that he thought it might burst through his ribs. He could feel another person laying beside him and was right on the verge of falling into a panic when he suddenly remembered where he was. Tony told him that he'd been rescued him and that he was safe. 

Yet even with that renewed knowledge he still felt the need to hesitantly glance beside him, silently begging whatever gods that were listening to him that it really was Tony lying there. He let out the breath he'd been holding when he saw that it was but there was still a little niggling of doubt wriggling its way through the back of his thoughts. 

That skepticism led him to nervously reach across be the bed, pausing for a moment when he got close enough that he could feel Tony's breath on his fingers. Once he was sure that the man was soundly sleeping, he began to ever so gently touch his face. He started with his eyebrows and cheekbones before moving down towards his lips and thick scruff of a goatee. Everything seemed to be okay so for the time being, he allowed himself to once again relax. 

  
With a shaky breath, he laid still and stared at the ceiling. As he did so, he began to wonder if his powers were starting to return. He could hear his own heartbeat again but more importantly, he could hear Tony's and he would know that ever so slightly offbeat rhythm anywhere. Then he reached up towards his neck where the implant had been forced into his skin and nearly cried when he couldn't find it.

It was that quiet gasp that finally caused Tony to wake. He'd not meant to fall asleep in the first place but after spending nearly a month getting no more than a few hours of rest at a time, laying down had caused him to go out like a light in mere minutes.

"You okay, Pete?" Tony asked when he looked over and saw the boy had tears flowing down his face. "Do you need me to tell you something only I would know?"

Peter warily nodded his head because even though he was already fairly convinced that the man beside him was still just as real as he had been the first time he'd woken up, he just wanted to hear the man speak. For not other reason than it was familiar and soothing.

Tony smiled sadly and started into a whole new elaborate tale about their time together, speaking without pause until Peter indicated that, he was content. "Are you hungry, Buddy," he asked. The kid had lost more than a few pounds during the time of his captivity and while the fluids he was on were fortified with glucose and nutrients he was eager to get something into his boy's stomach.

Peter slowly nodded his head before considering that getting food probably meant that Tony would have to leave the room and clung to the man's shirt with a vice grip. "W-wait. Don't go. Don't leave me here."

"I'm not leaving you here. I'm going to call Dr. Cho so she can bring you something to eat and look you over," Tony promised and then slowly lifted himself off of the bed so that he could use the call button to make his request. Peter holding onto his fingers the whole time.

A few short minutes later, Cho was opening the door carrying a tray. However, the moment she came into view, Peter froze. Tony was safe but his brain was screaming at him that _maybe_ Dr. Cho wasn't. Maybe Tony had been captured too and they were _both_ being tricked. He felt the blood drain from his face at the mere thought.

Tony saw the way the kid had paled at the doctor's appearance and held out a hand to prevent her from coming in any further. "Stop, Helen," he said quietly. "He needs to know that it's you. Tell him something only you would know."

Peter looked with interest between his mentor, who had protectively placed himself between him and the woman who he hoped really was Dr. Cho. That alone was enough to calm some of his nerves. This was the real Tony and the real Tony would let anyone hurt him. 

Helen faltered for a moment before settling on the retelling of Peter's very first gunshot wound. Though unlike Tony, she tried to stop once, what she thought was the pertinent information had been divulged.

"Keep talking," Tony said with a circular wave of his hand, looking between his son's still tense shoulders and Helen who he'd still not allowed all the way into the room. "He doesn't feel safe yet."

Helen continued to talk and at some undefined moment, Peter's anxiety began to ease. "She's real," he said quietly, leading Tony to take a few steps back so that the woman could come in and set the tray down.

"I have a variety of foods here for you, Peter," Helen said softly. "You can eat as much or as little as you want but I'm going to give you a really quick exam while I'm in here, okay?"

Peter nodded his head and stared dubiously towards the plate. Just looking at it has set his body up against its self. His brain was telling him not to eat it while his stomach begged for the opposite.

On more than one occasion, while being held captive, he'd been handed a plate of what looked like perfectly good food only to put it into his mouth and find that it had been rotten or made of dirt or clay. Meals had rapidly turned into a disgusting game of roulette and Eventually, he'd stopped attempting to eat anything that they offered him unless there was a threat attached. 

Seeing the kid's hesitation, Tony thought about some of the videos he's been sent and grabbed strawberry out of a bowl. Then he took a bite, humming in approval and nodding his head. "It's good, Kiddo," he said but he could tell that Peter wasn't convinced. "What do you want me to try next?" He hoped that by giving the teenager some control in the situation, that it would help and when Peter pointed towards the large sandwich, Tony tore a corner off and ate that as well. 

"Is it real?" Peter asked when Tony looked satisfied and the food on the plate didn't turn into something inedible after he'd bit into it.

Tony placed his hand on the side of Peter's face and rubbed his thumb across his cheekbone. "It's real, Pete. This is all _very real_. I promise."


	4. Day 4 - Prompt 4: Anxiety

During the time that Cho busy freeing Peter from the no-longer-necessary tubes and wires, Tony was one-handedly texting Happy, demanding that the hallways be kept clear so that he could bring his boy home without distress. If the kid had been afraid of him and the doctor that had been taking care of him for quite some time, he wasn't likely to be any less afraid of lingering strangers, and he didn't want that. He wanted his son to feel safe.

As it were, Privacy had been a good call. Even with no one in sight, Tony could see the way Peter's eyes were constantly scanning his surroundings as they trekked towards the penthouse. The way the kid held firmly onto his forearm wasn't missed either. It was then that he realized that the boy hadn't broken physical contact with him since he'd awoken the first time. He vaguely wondered if the constant touching was for comfort or if he was simply afraid to let go. He assumed that it was perhaps it was a little of both. 

The moment they walked into Peter's bedroom, Tony began digging through the drawers in order to pull out a set of fresh clothes so that his kid could bathe. As far as he was aware, the kid hadn't been properly clean since the day he'd been captured. His hair was nearly matted and the clothes that he'd removed from this boy's body had been crusted with grime and had smelled of perspiration, swill, and faintly of urine. "You can take a warm shower and put on your own clothes. I bet that sounds pretty nice, huh, Kiddo?" he quietly suggested.

Peter vigorously shook his head in the negative. As appealing as being clean sounded, taking a shower would mean letting go of Tony and he wasn't sure that he was ready to do that. He was terrified that if he did, he would return to find that the man had been replaced by a cruelly realistic imposter. "I don't need a shower," he stupidly declared, squeezing his hand so tightly around the man's arm that his fingertips were sure to leave a few small bruises. 

Purely out of instinct, Tony's free hand was instantly attempting to pry himself out of the painful grasp but the struggle only made the teenager's hold strengthen. "You've gotta loosen up a little bit, Buddy," he strained, trying to sound as calm as possible despite the ache. "You've got super strength, remember?"

With a sharp intake of air, Peter let go of Tony for the first time since he'd woken. "I'm sorry," he breathed out in remorse and before he could stop them, the tears were back again. "I just- I don't want you to go, Mr. Stark. _Please._ I don't want you to go-" he begged, stopping abruptly when a pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around him.

"I hear you, Pete and I understand," he said even though he wasn't sure that he did. He wasn't wholly convinced that Peter did either but he didn't want to question him. Not while things were so painfully raw and terrifying. "-but you _do_ need a shower. It'll help you feel so much better, Buddy. Even if it's just a quick one," he said in an attempt to ease the teenager's crippling anxiety. Then he swallowed back his own emotions and asked, "What can I do to help?"

"Just don't go," Peter struggled to reply, "I can't let you go."

Tony nodded his head and glanced around the room. "What if I sit right here on your bed and wait for you," he proposed and for a moment he thought the kid was going to agree. Then he could feel hot tears seeping into his shirt as his boy started shaking his head against his chest. 

With a deep sigh, Tony pulled the kid in a bit more closely. "Alright, how about if I go in there with you?" he reluctantly offered, feeling awkward at the mere suggestion. Though, that feeling quickly melted away when his boy looked up at him through his thick, damp eyelashes and tentatively nodded his head. At that moment, he was more sure than ever that there was probably nothing he wouldn't do for Peter, even without the guilt that was still eating at him, telling him that he was an inadequate guardian and father. He knew he'd not done enough to protect his identity, he'd not been fast enough to save him and he'd taken too long to find him. However, he swallowed all of that back in favor of getting the kid comfortable.

From there, the two of them walked into the bathroom together. Tony pointed out the various bottles of soap and shampoo and laid out a few towels beside the comfortable outfit he'd carried in with him. After he was certain that Peter had everything he needed, he sat down at the end of the counter, taking care to point his back towards the majority of the room. From his perch, he could hear the rustling of the hospital gown being tossed to the floor and the sound of the water being adjusted behind him. When none of that wasn't followed by the sound of the curtain being pulled into place he took a quick glance behind him to make sure that everything was okay and it was but at the same time, it wasn't. Because apparently, the kid had decided that even having a thin, partially translucent shower curtain veiled between them was too much. 

With a deep sigh, he leaned back on the mirror and stared up at the ceiling. He didn't know how they were going to get through all of this but he did know that they were going to get through it. Then, on a whim, he began to hum just loudly enough for the teenager to hear him over the rush of the water, hoping that it was enough to help his boy feel secure. For him to know that he was still there, even when he closed his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Four days in! How are we feeling about all of this so far?


	5. Day 5 - Prompt 5: Cuddling

At some point, the water shut off and just a few short minutes later, Tony felt a light tap on the back of his shoulder. He turned around to find that while Peter was completely dressed, he'd not really taken any amount of time to dry off. Large droplets of water were still dripping from is overgrown hair, landing on his nose and shoulders. 

Without a word, Tony picked up the discarded towel and began to rub it through his boy's hair until he was satisfied with the lack of excessive moisture. Then swiping the fringe of his bangs out of his eyes once he was done. "That's better," he whispered, not really expecting any kind of verbal response. The teenager hadn't really had much to say since he'd woken up. 

He couldn't stop the sigh that escaped his lips as he tilted his head in thought. He wasn't actually sure what to do next. If it had been a typical Tuesday evening, Peter would have already come home from school, finished his homework, and bounced down into the lab to work on the spider suit, help update the iron man armor or complete whatever project had recently taken their fancy. It wasn't until right then that he realized how precious those mundane evenings really were. He would give anything to have his boy smiling at him.

It took an embarrassingly long time for Tony to realize that he'd been standing in the bathroom for at least five minutes just staring at the kid while his mind wandered. When he did, he shook his head to free himself of the previous thoughts, looked down at the hand that had already reattached its self to his forearm, and made a hasty decision. "Let's go to the living room, Buddy," he said because if the boy needed to cling to him then figured that they may as well be comfortable.

As they walked through the bedroom, Tony grabbed the comforter off of the bed and dragged it along with them, tossing it onto the back of the couch before making a quick stop in the kitchen to grab some water bottles and a handful of snacks from the pantry. Once he had those things lined up across the coffee table he finally sat down, pulling Peter along with him.

Then, without ever having to be asked, FRIDAY began to play Star Wars, A New Hope. Tony looked up at the ceiling and quietly whispered, ' _Good girl, Fri,'_ before turning his attention back to his boy. He adjusted the teenager's chin so that it wasn't digging into his chest and rested a hand on atop his still-damp hair. Then he began to use his fingers to card through the loose curls and using his nails to scratch gently at the kid's scalp, just as he had in the past, whenever Peter was upset and in need of comfort. He smiled to himself when he heard his boy sigh in response. _He hadn't lost his touch._

They stayed cuddled close to one another for quite a while and even though his favorite movie was playing on the large screen before him, Peter couldn't seem to stop himself from turning his head so that he could study Tony's face. Not because he was afraid, the man had already proven more than once that, at least _he_ was real. The problem was that he'd been tricked into believing that he was being rescued so many times that there was a small, skeptical part of his head that was still trying to convince him that eventually, everything around him would crumble. 

Every time Tony would catch his boy gazing in his direction he would smile and squeeze the hand that was still in his. Then he would offer him some food or water, undaunted by the kid's hesitation. He would simply open the packaging, have a little himself, and then pass it over. 

The evening went by with relative ease all the way up until they were in the middle of their second film and Peter began to shift and fidget where he sat. Though he made no effort to get up or even mention his discomfort. Of course, Tony noticed. They were sitting so close together that it would have been hard for him not to but he stayed quiet about it for a while, waiting to see what Peter would do. However, after taking one too many elbows to be ribs, he sighed.

If the melt-down over being left alone to shower had been any indication, he should have guessed that it wasn't very likely that the kid would hop up to use the toilet on his own either. "Do you need to use the bathroom, Pete?" he asked, frowning at the way his boy stiffed at the question. "You know it's okay if you do, Buddy. I can even walk with you if you want," he said, already fully prepared for there to be some sort of resistance but there wasn't. If anything, the teenager looked utterly relieved by the offer. Or perhaps the permission, he wasn't sure he wanted to know.

The entire endeavor turned out to be far less challenging than the shower had been. It took very little coaxing to convince Peter to go into the bathroom on his own. Tony waited patiently outside of the slightly ajar door while the kid did what he desperately needed to do. It was a small victory but he would take it. Then the next thing he knew, his boy was reentering the hallway so quickly that he had to take a step back to avoid being crashed into. 

"Are we going to go back to the couch, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked the second his dad was back within his full sight.

"Do you want to go back to the couch?" Tony asked with a soft smile and a habitual quirk of his brow.

Peter looked between his dark bedroom and the well-lit living room, where Star Wars was still paused on the screen. "Y-yeah."

"Then that's where we'll go," Tony returned, already leading them back towards the nest they had created on the couch. "Dim the lights, FRIDAY, he murmured as wrapped his boy up in the blanket and guided his head down to his lap, where his fingers immediately went back to work. 


	6. Day 6 -  Prompt 10: Crying

Tony worked his finger's through his boy's hair, peeking at him regularly to see if he'd fallen asleep. Each time his gaze was met with Peter blinking back at him and he had to resist the urge to sigh. It was nearing midnight and even though he knew that the teenager had been asleep for hours he could see the way his eyes were beginning to glaze over with exhaustion. 

Eventually, Tony drifted off himself with his fingers still tangled in Peter's curls. Again, it hadn't been his intention to fall asleep there but his body was begging to catch up. The dim room combined with the pleasant background noise had caused his eyes to fall closed without his permission. 

He didn't stay asleep for long, he rarely did but in this case, it was his stationary position that had pulled him awake. His tail bone was starting to ache and his neck was feeling stiff from where his head and had fallen to his shoulders. He groaned and stretched his arms over his head before once again looking down at Peter who was, sound asleep with his cheek pressed into this thigh and an arm wound tightly around the bend in his knee. He looked so at peace that he hated his body for demanding that he wake him.

"Hey, Buddy, can you get up for me?" Tony quietly inquired as he shifted his weight in an attempt to make himself more comfortable. Yet despite his low tone, he seemed to have startled the poor kid causing him to violently flinch. "Hey, it's just me, Pete. You're okay," he whispered and was met with a pair of wide eyes. "Do you need me to tell you something only I would know?"

With his heart still pounding, Peter took a deep breath in through his nose and released it through his mouth before dropping his seemingly heavy head back onto the man's lap. "No, I know you're real. I'm safe. You're still here," he tiredly mumbled.

Hearing his boy say that he felt safe made Tony smile in earnest for the first time in what felt like an eternity. "I'm still here," he softly repeated before gently urging the kid to sit up so that he could rise to his feet. "I don't know about you but I'm ready to get into a real bed," he said, holding out his hand for Peter to take. 

  
Rather than take the man's outstretched hand Peter's eyes grew wide. "A _real bed_?" asked in horror. His mind was suddenly racing, going through everything he could remember from the last few hours, turning it around in his head, and overthinking it. The man had said _'real bed'_ and for some reason, rather than sounding reassuring, it left him to wonder why that specification had been necessary. _What wasn't real?_

"Yeah, Pete-" Tony began, pausing to analyze the kid's reaction. Once it all processed he became abruptly aware that his choice in words had been lacking and he could see the boy's eyes filling with unshed tears. "I meant- what I should have said was, I'm ready to lay in a bed instead of on the couch. The bed's far more comfortable," he said with a soft smile.

With his head was still fuzzy with sleep and doubt, Peter couldn't seem to stop crying. "What about me?" Peter croaked as one of the tears finally broke free and slid down his face. Tony was quick to catch it with the pad of his thumb but more followed until the teenager had dissolved into a sniffling mess.

"You can sleep in your own bed-" Tony began only to be cut off by a choked sob. It seemed that once again his words were failing him, so he pulled the kid into a tight embrace before trying to continue. " _Or_ -" he said, speaking directly into Peter's ear. "-Or you can come with me to mine."

Not a single beat passed before Peter was answering. "I want to stay with you," he said and Tony was not even slightly taken aback by that answer. If he was being honest, that's what he wanted too. Not counting his stay in medical, the kid hadn't been home for a whole twenty-four hours. He wasn't ready to let him fully out of his sight just yet. 

"That's fine, kid. It's okay. You're okay. Everything is fine," he murmured, as Peter cried into his shoulder. However when the reassurances didn't seem to help he pulled back a little, placed a hand on either side of his boy's face, and leaned forward so that their foreheads were touching. "What are you crying for, Buddy?", he asked, once again running his thumbs across the kid's damp cheeks.

There were several seconds where Peter tried to decide how to answer that question. He was unreasonably tired and his emotions were all over the place. It was as though his brain couldn't pick one and he was bouncing between content, anxious, and terrified so quickly that he couldn't process any of it. "I don't know," he eventually answered, feeling worse for not having a better answer.

"Okay, that's okay too," Tony assured, giving the teenagers shoulders a tight squeeze before leading the way towards the master bedroom. "Let's go get ready for bed."

The first thing Tony did upon entering his room was to get Peter to sit at the edge of his bed and then used some tissues to wipe away the excessive tears and snot. That was something that he'd never imagined himself doing for another person but there he was and it felt as natural as ever. 

  
Once he was reasonably sure that he'd gotten the kid at least slightly settled he went into the connecting bathroom to change out of his jeans and get himself ready for bed. He really wanted to take a shower but he was somewhat afraid that he was pushing it already. He could hear that Peter was still crying through the crack in the door, causing him to rush that much more. 

When he finally exited back into the bedroom he realized that Peter had curled up in the middle of the bed and had his face buried in his arms, his shoulders quivering with emotion. His mind drifted back to the time right after May had died. He knew the kid had cried then too, even if he'd tried his damndest to hide it from him. The teenager had been careful to keep the tears locked away behind his bedroom door. As such, he'd never seen his boy look so broken down before and it was making his heart clench painfully.

He wanted to fix everything, as any good engineer would but he still wasn't clear what his boy was crying about at the moment. Everything probably. He didn't ask. Peter had already said that he didn't know and he was inclined to believe him. Their relationship over the past year had become much more open. Peter didn't hide things from him anymore. 

With all of that still in mind, Tony climbed into his bed and pulled the covers back so that they could both get under them. Then he took the teenager's small shivering frame into his arms and pulled him close. He didn't try to whisper assurances. He wasn't sure that there was anything that he could say that would help. He simply held onto his boy until he'd cried himself to sleep.


	7. Day 7- Prompt 3: Nightmares

In the morning, just as the sun was starting to crest the horizon, Peter's body began to jerk as he slept. His eyebrows pulled together and his mouth turned into a hard frown that was quickly followed by a pathetic whine. However, it wasn't until the whining abruptly turned into a strangled cry that Tony was made aware of his distress.

"Pete?" Tony gasped when he was suddenly pulled from his slumber. When the only response he received was a flinch and a whimper he squinted his eyes to get a better look at his not so peacefully sleeping boy. "Nightmare, huh, Kiddo?" he whispered mostly to himself.

For a few seconds, Tony considered whether or not trying to wake the kid was a good idea. As much as he hated the idea of his boy being locked in some sort of terrifying dream, he knew better than anyone that being woken suddenly could cause more harm than good. Waking him up would likely startle him into a panic that would last longer than letting the dream run its course. More so he didn't want a teenager, especially one with super-strength, unwittingly lashing out at him. 

With a deep breath, in and out of his nose, Tony propped himself up onto his elbow and began to gently run his finger's through his boy's hair. "Shh. You're okay, Buddy. I'm right here with you," he whispered over and over again until the kid's body stilled and his features slackened. 

  
"That's it, Pete. See that? You're good," he said with a sympathetic smile before lowering himself back onto his pillows. Though he didn't go back to sleep. Instead, he kept his eyes locked onto Peter's face while the warm light that was starting to pour through the windows coated the room in a soft orange hue.

For no more than an hour, Tony lay there, watching his son breathing steadily in and out until his eye's finally fluttered open. "Hey, Pete," he softly spoke. "You doing okay this morning?"

For a few seconds, Peter lay there silently contemplating the question. For the first time in weeks, he'd woken up without his heart hammering or his breathing labored. Rather he'd woken up feeling cautiously optimistic. The day before had passed without any tricks or traps. "Is today going to be like yesterday?" he quietly asked.

"I don't know what you mean, Kiddo? We aren't going back to medical if that's what you're asking. We can stay right here in the penthouse," Tony replied in confusion. 

"No," Peter returned with a shake of his head. "Is everything going to be real today?"

"Yes. Absolutely. Everything will be real today," Tony pressed. "And tomorrow and every day after that."

Peter nodded his head and sat up, running the edge of the soft sheet between his middle and ring finger, a habit he'd not had since he was a small child. He found it oddly comforting. "Can I- can I maybe go use the, um, go use the bathroom?" he nervously asked next, being careful to not make any kind of eye contact. 

Tony closed his eyes in an attempt to hold back the wave of sadness that washed over him at that inquiry. When he opened them again he could see the kid was still staring at his fingers and made a move to direct his boy's gaze toward him. "This is your home, Pete," he stated without room for argument, "You don't have to ask for permission to take care of yourself. Do you want some food after?"

"Y-yeah," Peter replied with a ghost of a smile that made Tony's heart ache but rather than dwell on it, he climbed out of bed already trying to decide what he should make the kid for breakfast.

After having taken turns getting ready for the day, Peter watched as Tony made some pancakes. The man offered to let him help but he shook his head every time. He wasn't even sure why. Cooking togther is something they used to do a lot.

After some encouragement and support, they were able to eat together side by side at the bar before going back to the living room. From their place on the couch, they alternated between watching movies and flipping through books or magazines for hours at a time. Tony made sure to offer food at regular intervals and Peter hesitantly accepted it once it had been proven to be safe. And so the day progressed.

The evening went by nearly the same as the one before. As the hour began to change from late to early, Tony guided his boy's head to his lap and waited for him to grow tired before offering for them to go back to bed. They unsurprisingly ended up back in the master bedroom but this time as they got ready for bed, there were no tears and Tony was able to shower without any lingering guilt. 

Even with his arms full of teenager, Tony found sleep easily only to be woken up a few hours later when Peter inadvertently kicked him in the shin. "Fuck!" he groaned before realizing that the only reason he'd taken the hit at all was that his boy was in the midst of another nightmare only this time, rather than sleeping through it, the kid's eyes snapped open the moment his hand touched his head.

"No!" Peter screamed as he jerked out of Tony's touch.

"Alright, alright," Tony hurridly replied as he placed his hands where the kid could see them. "It was a dream, Pete. You're at the tower, safe and sound. This is all real."

Peter relaxed at those words but only marginally. His head was still swimming from his most recent night terror. "Where is he!" Peter shouted back as his eyes frantically searched the room. 

"Who?" Tony asked in confusion and when he was met with more than a few seconds of silence he started to panic a little. 

"Beck," Peter finally replied as a shiver ran down up his spine. Then, as his eyes began to water as he dove across the bed and back into his dad's arms.

Tony took on Peter's full weight without question, squeezing him tightly and resting his chin atop his head before he spoke. "He's gone, Buddy. The team made sure of it. He can't get to you ever again. I swear to you, he's gone," he promised over and over again until his boy was feeling good enough to go back to sleep. Then and only then did he allow himself to go back to sleep as well.


	8. Day 8- prompt 20: Movie Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here we are in day eight of Comfortember. I am loving all of the sweet comments everyone has been leaving! It makes my day! ❤️❤️
> 
> There's a small time skip, a good bit of fluff and a lot of protective dad Tony in this chapter! I hope you enjoy it!!

The next two weeks passed in a similar manner. Peter spent days hesitating to eat, bathe or use the bathroom with Tony's reassurance and the nights wrapped up in his adoptive father's arms. Eventually, the fear that things would fall apart at any given moment started to feel less intense and he began to do more and more on his own. 

Some days were better than others. He was starting to be able to take a shower without Tony standing right outside the door and, for the most part, he'd begun to trust that the food he was being given was edible. He was still spent a good bit of time feeling anxious and he still didn't like to be alone for any extended amount of time but slowly, things were starting to get better.

  
That wasn't to say that every day was a good day. There were definitely days where his mind was filled with doubt. Days that he needed Tony to quite literally hold him together but the man was patient with him, even when he wasn't patient with himself. It was frustrating to sit a table knowing that, rationally, the food in front of him was real, yet still being unable to lift the fork to his mouth.

"It's okay, Pete. Look. It's real. It's safe," Tony would say before taking a few bites from his own plate and then swapping them. Peter's eyes would mist over with self-disappointment and Tony would gently wipe them away the moment they broke free.

Though the biggest remaining challenge was having to interact with anyone but Tony. Happy had come up to visit and as much as Peter cared about him, he'd wavered between glad to see him and terrified of him for the first hour he'd been there. The same had happened when Rhodey, Bruce, and Steve had taken their turns coming to check on them. Even with Tony being careful and making each of them prove themselves trustworthy before allowing them in the door, he was afraid.

That's probably why Tony found it so surprising when Peter suddenly decided that he wanted to go downstairs to the common floor and see everyone at once. "Are you sure, Buddy? You don't have to do that. They all understand what you've been through and-"

"-I can't stay here forever just because I'm scared, Mr. Stark," Peter replied with more confidence than he felt.

With a soft smile, Tony rested his hand on his boy's cheek. "That's true but it's only been two weeks. You don't have to rush yourself into anything. Why don't we just invite Rhodey and Happy over for dinner? What about that?"

"I think, I think I should try leaving the penthouse," Peter tentatively replied, leaning into the man's touch the entire time. "I don't want to spend the rest of my life afraid to leave home."

Even though he thinks that it may be too soon, Tony gives in. He knew that the teenager was right, he shouldn't live the rest of his life cooped up in the penthouse. Nor did he want him to. He just didn't want the kid to rush into anything he wasn't fully prepared to handle yet. "Alright, Kiddo, but the second you feel uncomfortable or unsafe, we're coming home," he firmly asserted and Peter nodded his head. Then he took a deep breath and looked towards the ceiling. "I suppose I should have FRIDAY call Steve."

That evening, Peter attached himself to Tony's arm as they made their way out of the elevator. The moment they stepped into the common room he could see every single one of the Avengers looking at him and he had to close to eyes to prevent himself from going into a panic. They seemed to notice because, without any prompting, they all started taking turns, telling him things that they thought that only they would know. He listened and it did help some but there were just so many of them at once that it was hard to accept. 

His discomfort continued, even after they had finished but he told them that he was okay and they all walked towards the large kitchen table to eat dinner. Already being on edge, Peter found himself unable to eat and could feel tears prick his eyes when he had to switch plates with Tony in front of everyone. He was grateful when no one mentioned anything about it.

Dinner itself was a quiet affair as small spurts of conversation stopped and started abruptly. It seemed as though no one knew quite what to say. Then after everyone had eaten their fill Steve took it upon himself to put an end to the forced dialogue by suggesting a movie night.

That ended up being the best possible idea. Peter was able to sit in the large chair-and-a-half, pressed safely into Tony's side, and still see everyone else that was in the room. That alone allowed him to relax significantly and by the time, Clint hopped up to make and pass out popcorn, he was feeling good enough about the situation to be able to eat it without hesitation. 

Tony watched with interest as Peter munched on popcorn and laughed periodically at whatever rom-com was playing on the television. It almost felt like a typical Friday night. So much so that he was unable to resist the urge to grab a handful of the popcorn and then proceed to toss it one kernel at a time at the kid's face. 

"Stop it, Mr. Stark," Peter replied with the first full, genuine smile that Tony has seen in weeks. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever witnessed and it made his heart absolutely sing. He knew that there would still be bad days but at that moment, he could see a spark of happiness in his boy's eyes and that was enough to keep him going. It gave him hope and he suddenly and desperately needs to pull the teenager into a bone-crushing hug.

"I love it when you laugh. I swear it's my favorite sound in the world." Tony said as Peter melted into his embrace.

"Well, I guess, I'll try to do it a little more often then," Peter quietly replied and neither one of them gave a singular shit that everyone in the room was staring at them with fond smiles.

Tony rolled his eyes and waved a hand towards the stupidly smiling group. "Take a picture it'll last longer, you bunch of saps," he said, laughing, mostly out of shock, when FRIDAY was the one who responded. 

"Already done, Boss." 


	9. Day 9- Prompt 6: Afraid to Sleep

That same night, Peter decided out of nowhere that he wanted to go to sleep in his own bed. Again, Tony was dubious. The kid was still having nightmares on a regular basis. But he didn't try to stand in the teenager's way. It wasn't his trauma or his recovery. He had no right to stand there and tell the kid what he was and was not ready for. It was his job to be supportive and he could do that. "That's great, Pete," he said with a smile that he was fairly sure his boy could see right through. "-But just so we're clear, you're welcome to come to my room if you change your mind at any point- or have FRIDAY wake me up to come to you. Whatever you need, okay?" he said. 

Peter hummed in agreement, allowing the man to hug him good night before he went into his room. It felt strange to be in there for more than simply grabbing a set of clothes. He looked towards the door and faltered. Keeping it open meant that he wasn't trapped but keeping it closed felt like it would be safer. Safer from what he wasn't sure. He ended up meeting himself in the middle and leaving it cracked just enough that he could see the door to Tony's room if he lay just the right way. 

Once he'd changed into his nightclothes, he sat on the edge of his bed and could feel fission of anxiety creep through his entire body. He pushed it down, threw back the covers, and dropped his head down on the pillows. But he didn't close his eyes. Every time he did, every nightmare that he could remember would dance across his eyelids.

For hours he stared at Tony's doors with tired eyes and conflicted thoughts. He didn't want to go to sleep. If he went to sleep he'd more than likely have a nightmare. There was a chance that he would simply sleep through the worst of it and only have foggy memories of it come morning. However, there was also a chance that he would wake up, sweating, unable to catch his breath and, worse, alone. 

As much as he didn't want to wake up ina panic he also didn't want to go running into his dad's bedroom like he was six years old and afraid of a monster lurking in the dark. Except, he kind of was afraid of a monster. Only rather than being hidden under his bed and or in his closet, it was in his head and he couldn't seem to shake it.

He pulled the sheet up a little more tightly over his shoulder and looked at the clock. It was only half-past one in the morning. There were still hours to go until it would be a reasonable time to come out of his room, so he forced his eyes closed and counted all the way up to five thousand three hundred and twelve before he drifting off into an uneasy sleep.

Across the hall, Tony wasn't fairing much better. Being in his bedroom before three or four in the morning was something that was typically out of character for him. Yet, after a week of going to bed when the kid did, he found himself in a new routine. Logically, he knew that with the boy in his own bed, he could probably get some work done. Maybe go down to the lab alone for the first time since the whole fiasco had wrapped up but he decided against it. Even with FRIDAY keeping watch, he didn't want to be too far away if his boy woke up and needed him. So, he lay there, doing what he could with a tablet until sleep finally took him as well.

Though neither of them slept for terribly long. Within the next three hours, Peter was waking up on the verge of hysteria. The expected night terror had come but it was, by far, more distressing than the rest. It had been nearly lucid. In the dream, he'd woken up in his room and wandered into the living room to find Tony. Only the moment the man was within sight, everything chipped away and he was back inside of his cold gray prison with Beck laughing at him.

"I had you going there for a while, didn't I," the dream captor stated and that's when Peter woke up. Except he wasn't sure if he's actually woken up or if the illusion was back. He tried to scramble out of his bed but the sheets were tightly wound around his legs, causing him to panic further.

"Let go of me! Please!" he shouted even though his distorted thoughts were screaming that there was no one there who would free him. _He was alone._

Tony woke up with a start when he heard the kid scream and darted across the hall, skidding to a halt just inside the bedroom. "Pete?" he said as he took in the sight before him. When the teenager didn't acknowledge his presence he stepped in a bit further. "Peter, look at me! You're safe," he stated with as much calm as he could.

At that point, Peter did look up a bit but rather than feeling relieved that Tony was there, he began to cry because he was sure that the last few days had been a lie. "Get out," he whispered. "Please. Just let me go. I want to go home," he pathetically added and then buried his head in his hands.

"It was a nightmare, Buddy. You _are_ home," Tony softly replied, "Listen, you can hear my heart. That thing that was in your neck? Bruce took it out and destroyed it," he explained as he took a few tentative steps towards his boy. "I'm the real deal, kiddo."

Peter closed his eyes and tried to slow his breathing so that he could hear past it. Then he zeroed in on the heartbeat that wasn't his own. As he listened to the steady, slightly off-beat rhythm, he realized that Tony was right, it had been nothing more than a dream. Though to be sure, he reached up to press on his neck where the implant had been, opening his eyes once he'd confirmed that it was gone. He was almost sure there was no way for anything to holographically remove something so tangible. He was positive that it could _look_ as though it were gone but they couldn't take away his ability to _touch it._

When Tony saw Peter look at him with watery eyes, he allowed himself to let out the breath he'd been holding. "Can I touch you?" he asked, already itching to get his hands on his boy. To hold him, comfort him, to make sure that he knew he was safe from harm and when the kid nodded his head he was all in.

"Oh, Kid," he said as he sat down on the bed and pulled Peter's head into his chest and ran his finger's through his hair until he was calm. "There you go, Buddy. You good now?" he asked when he could feel his boy's body begin to relax against him. Peter nodded his head and Tony rested his cheek on the crown of the kid's hair as he looked at the clock on the bedside table. "Ready to go back to sleep?" 

"No," Peter replied with passion. "I can't. I don't want to,"

Tony quietly shushed him and ran his hands up and down his boy's back. "I hear you, Pete but it's still really early and you went to bed so late. You must still be tired," he said as tried to quickly calculate exactly how many hours of sleep they had each gotten. It couldn't have been much. FRIDAY had already told him that the kid had been restless for quite a while once he'd gone into his room.

Despite the reassurances, Peter shivered in his dad's arms. "I don't want to sleep. I don't want to see him again, Mr. Stark. I don't want to wake up like that. I can't sleep," he said in an effort to explain that he was afraid of having the same frighteningly realistic dream all over again.

"That was a bad one, huh, kid," Tony stated without censor, pulling the kid in close when he nodded his head. "You can't just not sleep. That'll just make you sick and miserable," he said. Though the indisputable fact that lack of sleep was known to exacerbate anxiety _and paranoia_ was left unsaid.

"I don't want to," Peter petulantly repeated.

Tony hummed in understanding as he stood up, pulling his boy along with him, knowing that if nothing else a change in scenery was probably a good idea. "I know you don't, kid. I wouldn't want to either. How about you come back to my room, though. I would feel better with you there."

"I still won't sleep," Peter asserted as he clung to the man's hand and followed him across the hall.

"That's fine. You don't have to sleep," Tony agreed and then lowered both of them into the bed. "Just- _rest,_ " he gently demanded even as he went straight to work, trying to ease the kid to sleep as he had every single night prior. 

However, even with Tony's arm protectively wrapped around his body, Peter didn't close his eyes for the rest of the night.

Two steps forward one step back


	10. Day 10- Prompt 23: Exhaustion

Without ever having to check FRIDAY, Tony knew that Peter had all but stopped sleeping. They continued to share a bed but no amount of soothing or comfort could get his boy to deliberately close his eyes. If he did sleep it was because his body had hit its limit and even then, more often than not he would wake up a few short hours later, panting and grasping for reality.

Tony tried every trick in the book to get his boy to relax but it was easier said than done. The longer he went without substantial rest the more nervous, emotional, and irritable he became. He'd glare and make a snappy remark only to cling to his arm and practically beg to be held all within the same half-hour. It was as though the kid was both pushing him away and keeping him within arms reach all at once and it was confusing.

Eventually Tony decided that maybe he needed to put his foot down. So the moment the credit started rolling down the television screen he cut it off completely. That alone leading his boy to look at him with anticipation. "Look, Pete, I get it that you're afraid to sleep-" he started, choosing to jump right in without preface. 

"-I'm not afraid!" Peter interjected without thought, though he wasn't sure why he was denying it. He couldn't even take more than a quick shower without anxiety creeping up his spine and that was starting to weigh on him. He was a superhero for Christ's sake. He could catch a bus with his bared hands without ever blinking an eye but he couldn't bring himself to do something as mundane as _sleep._

"Okay, fine. Maybe I'm wrong," Tony placated. He wasn't trying to start a fight. "-but you are avoiding it and I can't let you keep going like that."

"Like what, Mr. Stark?" Peter pressed out of principal alone. He simply didn't want to admit that he was still struggling. So he lied. "I'm fine!"

"You're not fine, kid. You just about bit my head off yesterday when I asked you what you wanted for dinner," Tony returned, making a point to keep his tone soft and his body language open. 

Peter swallowed hard and vigorously shook his head. "No, I didn't!"

"Pete, you're the only one getting worked up right now," Tony gently pointed out but he couldn't quite keep the underlying plea out of his tone. "That _has_ to tell you something."

Feeling overwhelmed and defiant, Peter stuck out his chin and scooted away from the man. Although, he made a point of not breaking contact. His leg that was still on the floor was brushing up against Tony's. "Yeah, that you aren't listening to me!" he shouted, burying his face in his hands when his voice cracked on the last syllable.

That one little break in his boy's speech was enough to make Tony decided that it was time to give it up for the time being. "I'm sorry, Buddy," he sighed out while holding his hands up in defeat. "But how about we hit the hay a little early tonight though. Sound good?"

Peter shrugged his shoulders and watched as the man stood up from the couch and started making their lunch in the kitchen. Then before he could stop himself he was stretching out over the cushions. He was tired. He was so tired that his bones ached but rather than allowing himself to succumb to sleep he watched his dad making sandwiches. He could see the concern in the man's eyes and was immediately angry with himself for being the cause of it. He could feel tears springing into his eyes. However, he couldn't wipe them away fast enough and he knew that Tony had seen them.

"I'm sorry," he croaked as the man set the plates down onto the coffee table. "I'm sorry I keep yelling at you and I'm sorry that I keep making you worry," he said, pausing to use the napkin Tony had handed him to wipe his eyes and nose. "You're right. I am tired. I'm so, _so_ tired and I know I should go to sleep but I just d _on't want to_."

Tony opened his arms for Peter to fall into. "Hey, it's okay, Baby," he said, and even though his tears Peter heard the new pet name, and it took him slightly by surprise. Just enough to make his breath to hitch. Tony had never called him that before. Yet when he looked up at the man as he continued to talk, it appeared that he was unaware of what he'd just called him.

"I know you're tired, Pete. I can see that when I look at you," Tony continued as Peter stared up at him with an unreadable expression. "I also know that you're still healing. I don't expect every moment of every day to be smooth sailing. I told you that when you first moved in here," he said, hesitating slightly because he wasn't sure it was a good time to bring up the kid's most recent loss. "I'm not perfect and I never will be but- you're my baby, and I'm sure as hell going to keep trying my best," he finished before unceremoniously pulling his boy towards him.

"I know," Peter admitted, voice still shakey with tears.

Tony brought his brows together and leaned back so that he could study the kid's face. "I love you. You know that too, right? You know that I love you?" he asked, suddenly unsure if he'd never made that proclamation. 

"Yeah. I- I love you too," Peter return, unable to remember a time where either of them had ever said that out loud. The sentiment had been there. It has been there for a long time but they tended to _show_ their affection rather than spell it out. The complete opposite of the way things had been with May and Ben. They had always said I love you to each other, often. Sometimes multiple times a day and he had to admit that hearing those words spoken aloud again had felt good- _saying them out loud again had felt good._

The pair ate dinner in a comfortable silence save for the soft background music that FRIDAY had begun to play at Tony's request. It continued to play even after the plates were placed in the dishwasher and they had settled back down on the couch. Peter leaning into his dad's side while he flipped through a comic book that Ned had long since loaned him but he'd yet to be read.

Tony tried to get the kid to rest his head on his lap as he read but Peter refused. had hoped that between the talk they're just had, the instrumental music, and the lack of screen time that the kid would at least try to nap but it didn't look like that was in the cards. Even when the boy's chin was repeatedly dropping down onto his chest before being snapped back up again but it was fine. The evening was young. He could try again later and maybe, just maybe his boy would give in. Goodness knows he looked exhausted.


	11. Day 11- Prompt 8: Lashing Out

For a couple of hours, Tony sat on the couch and manipulated a few holographic designs while simultaneously keeping an eye on the teenager beside him. Despite having a comic book in his hand, the kid seemed to be staring blankly at the same page he'd been staring at three minutes prior. That's when he decided that perhaps it was late enough to propose that they move into the bedroom.

"Hey, Kid. I'm beat," he said, choosing to mitigate the situation by blaming the before midnight bedtime on himself. "I'm ready for bed."

"Right now?" Peter asked in confusion that was bordering on irritation.

"Yeah, Buddy. We've stayed up late and gotten up pretty early for the last week. I'm tired," Tony said, with a yawn that he didn't actually need to fake. He'd spent each night trying his damndest to wait the kid out but he always ended up falling asleep before the teenager did.

"No you're not," Peter stated with squinted eyes and a defined frown. He wasn't stupid, he could see exactly what the man was up to. "I've seen you go more days with less sleep."

  
Unable to deny that, Tony placed a hand on the boy's knee and gave it a gentle pat. "You're right, Buddy, I have but we both know that's not healthy," he said with an unenthusiastic half-smile.

"Well, it won't work," Peter replied with enough venom to make Tony raise an eyebrow at him. He didn't care. He wasn't going to force into something he didn't want to do. "You can't drag me to bed and make me sleep, Mr. Stark! 

Tony blew out a breath and ran his hands down his face. "I'm not trying to make-" he tried to say but Peter was already interrupting him.

"-Yes, you are! You're always trying to make me do things I don't want to do!" Pete lashed out, knowing it was a lie. Tony had never forced him into anything, ever. He was just itching for a fight and he wasn't even sure why. "You can't control what I do or when I sleep! I'm not-" he continued to rant, coming to a momentary halt while he wracked his brain for the words that were sure to hurt the most. Once he had found them, he let them go without hesitation. "You're not my _actual_ dad!" he shouted, regretting it the moment the words had left his mouth. But he kept his jaw tight all the same.

"I. Pete, I'm-" Tony sputtered, feeling more than a little hurt and inept. That making it hard for him to decide which part of the outburst he was meant to address first. He eventually settles o the first half choosing to ignore those painful words that had followed. He knew his boy wasn't in his usual mindset and he could see the guilt in his eyes even if he wasn't willing to own up to it, just yet. "I know I can't force you to sleep. I just want you to _feel better._ I want you to heal and thrive and I don't know what I'm doing but I do know that you refusing to sleep isn't going to help. You can't keep fighting it. _I'm trying to help you_ ," he strained.

"I don't need your help!" Peter snapped back and after a few seconds of aching silence, Tony stood up and turns towards the bedroom, an action that had Peter's heart jumping clear into his throat. "Wait! I didn't mean it! Mr, Stark!" he yelled, bursting into tears as he jumped up off the couch himself and grabbed the man by the shoulders. "I didn't mean any of it!"

Tony's intention had been to remove himself from the conversation before it could escalate any further. He'd already known that the kid didn't mean it and hadn't realized that his quiet exit would cause so much distress. "I know, Buddy. I know," he said as he turned around and placed a hand on each of Peter's pinkened cheeks and sighed before allowing his boy to bury his face in his neck. He could feel the hot tears and found that he no longer had the will or the energy to urge the teenager into a bedroom. Then it crossed his mind that maybe not being in the bedroom was exactly what the kid needed. Perhaps he associated that room with fear and discomfort and they simply needed to take a break from it. Then an idea struck and he couldn't stop himself from grinning. "You know what? I think I've got an idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was Another kind if rough charter but the next two- maybe three are lighter, I promise! Keep talking to me in the comments! It makes me smile!!  
> 💙🕷️❤️


	12. Day 12- Prompt 7: Blanket Fort

Without another word, Tony took Peter by the hand and tugged him down the hall towards the large linen closet. "Hold out your hand," he instructed, and when the teenager reluctantly complied he began to unload every single one of the nearly folded blankets into his arms.

"What are you doing?" Peter asked with an amused half-smile.

"Well, you don't want to go to the bedroom and I don't want to sleep on the couch so we're going to compromise," Tony replied with ease as he continued to pull blanket after blanket off of the closet shelves.

"Compromise?" Peter questioned, readjusting his stance just slightly so that he could see around the growing pile of linen that he was being handed.

"Yep," Tony returned, popping the 'p' and smiling broadly before guiding the kid back to the couch and gesturing towards the cushions. "Put those on the couch, and let's go grab some pillows."

"But _why_?" Peter called out after the man who had taken off down the hall at a rapid pace. He had no idea why they needed a mountain of sheets and throws, let alone a stack of pillows. especially when the man had been going on about wanting to go to bed not even ten minutes prior.

Tony had Peter grab the four pillows from his own bedroom before heading across the hall to collect four more. Only answering once they had made it back to the living area. "Because we need a bunch of pillows to have a proper blanket fort," he said as he gestured wildly towards the large collection of building supplies.

For a few seconds, Peter just blinked back at the man. He knew he was tired and his brain wasn't necessarily keeping up but he was fairly sure that Tony Stark wasn't known for his blanket fort know-how. "What do you know about blanket forts, Mr. Stark?" he asked trying to sound less perplexed that he actually was.

"It's not exactly rocket science, Pete, and I do watch television, you know," Tony scoffed before shaking out one of the largest blankets and tossing it over the back of the couch. "Now, go grab a couple of those kitchen chairs that they can hold this baby up."

Suddenly feeling oddly excited by the impromptu activity, Peter smiled and his skipped off towards the kitchen to grab the necessary support items. Once they were in place, the roof was spread out and they began to arrange the inside of the large nook they'd created.

Layer after layer was spread across the floor until they were built up high enough that one could have easily mistaken the agglomeration for an actual mattress. As they worked, Peter was smiling the whole time and Tony was thinking that the distraction had been a good idea. Even better than the lab had been a few days prior. There was no call for concentration or coordination as they haphazardly heaped everything together.

It was just after midnight when they dropped the pillows into place and went to change into pajamas. "Are we going to say out there all night, Mr. Stark?" Peter asked as he spat some toothpaste into the sink

"Maybe? I'm not against it," Tony said keeping the part where he thought, _'especially if you actually go to sleep,'_ to himself. His back be damned, he would spend the night on the kitchen floor if that's where they needed to be for his boy to sleep.

Peter smiled a goofy smile, saying, "Cool. A sleepover," and all Tony could think was _'there's my boy'_ as he smiled back.

"Sure, Kiddo. A sleepover," he chuckled and then they made their way back to the living room and into their fort. While Peter fluffed the pillows and wrapped himself up in what amounted to a blanket burrito, Tony, propped himself up against the foot of the couch, slouching slightly so that the roof didn't settle on top of his head. 

Once they were both reasonably comfortable, Peter hugged one of the extra pillows and sighed contentedly. "Are we going to watch something?" he asked. "When I and Ned used to make forts we always watched movies."

Not wanting to disrupt the quiet atmosphere, Tony opted not to start any kind of film. Instead, he asked FRIDAY to play them an episode of Planet Earth. The soothing voice of the narrator combined with the soft natural noises and the peaceful scenery seemed like another good compromise.

Peter didn't mind the selection and hummed his approval as the show began. It didn't take long before his head was resting on the pillow he had clutched against him. Tony could see the soft light of the television lighting up his face and began to absentmindedly rub a hand over the teenager's calf, inadvertently gaining his attention.

"Hmm?" Peter tiredly hummed.

"Nothing, Buddy. Just looking at you. That's all," Tony said before sliding down so that he was laying shoulder to shoulder with his boy. 


	13. Day 13- Prompt 9: Confessions

For what felt like a very long time, Tony lay on his stomach with his head on his folded arms, staring at Peter. He could see the way his eyes were growing heavy and there had been several short-lived moments where he thought that the kid would actually succumb to his exhaustion. But every time it looked like the teenager was getting close, he would readjust himself or the blankets in an effort to fight it. 

Eventually, Peter turned his head to face Tony rather than the television and sighed. "I'm really sorry about what I said earlier," he said. 

"I know you are, Buddy. That was your lack of sleep talking," Tony replied, scooting just a little closer to his boy so that he could brush a loose curl behind his ear.

"I don't know why I even said that. I don't know what's wrong with me," Peter stated with frustration and the threat of more tears. He just wanted things to get better, to be normal. Or at least as close to normal as his life could ever get. "I'm so, so grateful that you adopted me. You didn't have to do that _but you did_ and I know I'm so much work and-" he rambled in further apology but stopped mid-sentence when the man placed a finger gently on his lips.

"-Pete, I wouldn't have offered to adopt you if I didn't want to. I knew exactly what I was signing up for. I wanted to be the one who was there for you. The idea of you living with strangers nearly killed me. I was never going to let anyone else, have you. _I. Wanted. You_ ," Tony asserted because as many things as the kid was doubting at the moment, he wanted to be damn sure that how much he was loved and cared about to be one of them.

Peter sniffed and nodded his head. "You know, even before all of this, I already thought of you as kind of like a second parent. Kind of like dad, I guess," he timidly admitted.

"Yeah?" Tony returned with a smile. "Well, from the day I met you I felt like I was somewhat responsible for you but the more I got to know you the more I cared about you and it didn't take long for me to start referring to you as _my_ kid. Rhodey used to give me a hard time about it. In fact, there was a while there, where he thought that you were my _biological_ kid and that we were screwing with him," he prattled, laughing at the memory. 

The little fort was quiet for a few moments as Tony quietly reminisced and Peter continued to dwell on everything that had been said that day. "You called me your Baby," he said when he couldn't get that particular event out of his head.

Hearing Peter repeat his words had Tony's cheeks heating up and he wasn't really sure why. Perhaps because that particular endearment was so intimate. He was just glad that the room was too dark for the kid to notice. "I did," he murmured, hoping that he'd not overstepped.

Peter rolled over so that he was face to face with his dad and brought his brows together in an unreadable expression. "Did you mean it? Did you mean to call me that?" he asked.

"Yeah. I did," Tony replied even though that proclamation had simply slipped out. However, for it to have flowed so easily from his lips, he had to have meant it. _He did mean it._ Peter was his baby.

"Uncle Ben and Aunt May used to call me that too," Peter whispered back, quickly wiping away a stray tear.

Despite the surreptitious motion, Tony knew that his boy was crying and he couldn't quite suppress the slight guilt that passed through him. He'd not meant to upset him. "Do you not want me to call you that anymore?" he asked softly.

"No!" Peter shot back with fervor. "No, I liked it, Mr. Stark. It was really- nice," he said with a small smile. Though he wasn't quite ready to admit that the reason it felt nice was that he was glad to know that he's still _somebody's_ baby. It made him feel more connected and less lonely.

Tony nodded his head and took in a deep breath through his nose. "I know we've talked about this before but I would really like it if you called me something other than Mr. Stark," he said without judgment. 

"Okay, I guess I can do that," Peter quietly replied, returning to his back so that he could stare up at the patterned sheet that was draped over their heads.

"And since we're being all mushy and sentimental right now, do you want to hear a secret?" Tony asked, having already decided that there would be no better time to finish getting all of his confessions off of his chest.

"Sure," Peter replied, turning his head so that he could see the man beside.

Tony paused for a few seconds, trying to decide the best way to say what he wanted to say before just spitting it out. "I kind of wish you would call me Dad," he said, meeting eyes with the teenager for only a moment before they both returned their gaze to the canopy. 

"Really?" Peter asked after a hand full of seconds had passed in silence.

"Really, really," Tony returned. "I don't expect you to and I would _never_ force you to but, yeah. I like the idea of you calling me dad,"

"I could maybe try it," Peter hesitantly stated. Going from Mr. Stark to Dad felt like a huge leap even if he'd imagined that very scenario in his head the day they sighed the adoption papers. 

"Only if you want to," Tony clarified. He wasn't trying to pressure the boy into anything he wasn't ready for. He had enough going on.

"I've wanted to before but I was afraid you would hate it. I mean, I get it that you're my father by law and everything but I also know that I'm still just some kid you adopted," Peter replied, as wound the blanket he was wrapped in around his hand in a nervous gesture. 

At those words, Tony sat up, urging Peter to do the same. He wanted to see him, r _eally see him_ when he said his next words. "You are _not_ just some kid. You're Peter Benjamin Parker. _You're my son_ whether you ever decide to take my last name or not." he firmly yet affectionately stated before softening his tone and cupping his boy's cheek in his hand. "I love you, Buddy. _You're my baby._ "

"I love you too," Peter return allowing the words to wrap him up in parental affection. Then he yawned and lay back down on his pillow, looking up at his dad with a smile. "Can you tell me more about when Mr. Rhodey thought that we were related?"

"Sure, kiddo," Tony answered with a light chuckle.

"I might fall asleep," Peter conceded through another wide yawn before closing his eyes.

"That's okay," Tony replied, actively fighting the innate desire to say _'Thank God.'_ Especially since he had a feeling that being talked to sleep was exactly what his boy wanted. "I'll keep talking until you do."

"Thanks," Peter mumbled, opening his eyes just long enough to see the man smile when he called him, "-Dad."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter callrd Tony dad. ADSKGFGSSK


	14. Day 14- Prompt 13: Baking

It hadn't taken long for Peter to fall asleep. He'd cracked a small smile at some of the more entertaining parts of the story but within twenty minutes he was lightly snoring, though Tony continued to quietly speak for several minutes after just to be sure. Then he allowed himself to sleep.

The next morning, he was surprised when he was woken by the sunlight filtering through the blanket fort walls rather than Peter kicking or crying out in his sleep. He was further surprised when he looked at the clock above the television that was still playing the soothing nature documentaries and saw that it was after nine. He couldn't remember the last time he got eight hours of sleep in a row 

He took his time getting up, not wanting to wake Peter in the process. If the kid wanted to sleep until noon, he would let him. He on the other hand needed to get off of the floor. Despite the heavy padding, there was no support and his joints had grown stiff. He had to bite back a groan when he finally stood up and everything seemed to pop at once.

Once he had stretched the kinks out of his back he made his way into the kitchen and quietly started a pot of coffee. He considered throwing together some sort of breakfast as he did most mornings but decided against when he started to pull a pan out and the one under it shifted with a loud clang.

It was fine, the kid would be just as happy with cereal, he thought to himself as he sat down with his first hot mug of the day and began to go through his email. The one at the top is from Peter's school. 

The principal had been extremely forgiving given the situation but the last day of school had come and gone and Peter hadn't taken any sort of exams leaving him in tenth-grade limbo. The most logical solution that was being presented to him was for the kid to attend a few weeks of summer school, pass his test, and be back on track for his junior year. But those classes didn't start for another few weeks and hopefully, by that time the teenager to be mentally prepared to go back to any kind of school routine.

By the time he'd jotted an email back to the school, checked in with Pepper, and read through a few critical documents he could hear his boy beginning to stir. It was nearly eleven. "I'm in the kitchen, Bud," he casually announced to prevent the kid from freaking out about waking up alone. Though that didn't seem to be a problem. Peter crawled out of their nest and wandered into the kitchen, with a smile on his face. "Feeling good this morning?"

"Mm-hmm," Peter hummed as he stretched his arms above his head and scratched at his neck and shoulder. "Did I have any nightmares? I can't remember."

"I don't think so, kiddo," Tony replied with a smile, "Maybe that blanket fort is magic."

Peter scoffed and wandered off towards the bathroom, thinking to himself that if anything was magic, he was pretty sure it was the sound of Tony's voice. He was nearly sure that laying there picturing everything he was saying is what had warded off all bad dreams and allowed him to sleep through the night but he didn't say it.

Breakfast turned into an early lunch and as they were cleaning up they began to talk began to discuss how they would spend the remainder of the day. Tony suggested the usual, reading, movies, and lab only to be shot down all three times. He was most surprised by the decline of lab time. They had only been down there a handful of times since he'd been home and he thought that after having such a good night that the kid would be eager to spend some time there. 

"What do you want to do, Buddy?" Tony asked after, video games, the gym, and hang out with the other avengers had been vetoed as well.

"I don't know," Peter replied with a slight whine to his voice. Nothing sounded good. It was as if he both wanted to leave the penthouse and didn't want to leave the penthouse all in one go. "I want to stay here but I'm tired of laying around too. I want-" he said cutting himself off when he didn't know how to finished his sentence.

"What do you want, Pete?" Tony questioned.

"I don't know, Mr. Sta- Dad," Peter said stumbling only slightly over the term of address. It wasn't uncomfortable to call the man dad it was just hard to break such an old habit. "To do something different I guess. But here. With you."

"We could play a board game. I think I might have a chessboard around here somewhere," Tony offhandedly suggested.

Peter scrunched up his nose at the option and sighed. "Not that," he said, not ungratefully. It wasn't that he didn't like to play chess so much as playing chess would mean sitting down for hours and he felt like he had the energy to burn off for the first time in forever.

"Okay," Tony replied as he scanned the area for some sort of inspiration. Then he saw that the pantry door had been left and that there was a bag of chocolate chips nestled between a bag of flour and a container of granulated sugar, giving him an idea. "What if we made cookies?"

"You want to bake cookies?" Peter dubiously inquired. Baking was something that he had never done before. They had tried to make pancakes one time and it had ended poorly. Not disastrously, the pancakes had been edible but they weren't as good as the ones that typically ordered. He couldn't imagine baking going much better. Their collective talents lay elsewhere. 

Tony huffed a laugh and went to examine the pantry and refrigerator shelves. They seemed to have all the basics. "Sure, kid. Why not?"

After taking a moment to think it over, Peter shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno. I guess, let's do it," he said with a smile.

With a clap of his hands and wide smile, Tony held an unopened jar of peanut butter and a bag of chocolate chips for consideration. "Should we make chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies? I think we have what we need to do one or the other but not both," he asked, having already decided that there was probably not enough flour or sugar to attempt to do too much. He could always order more if they wanted to try it again some other time.

"Can we make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies? Is that a thing?" Peter asked.

"Sure, it is. Right, FRIDAY?" Tony asked and was pleased when his AI instantly projected a recipe for the desired hybrid cookies. It didn't look terribly complicated and he was actually sort of excited to give it a try. "Help me gather up what we need, kid," he said setting them both to work.

They spent a good part of the early afternoon, measuring, mixing, and scoping out little balls of dough onto trays. Peter tasted it every step of the way and Tony gave him a hard time about not contracting salmonella. They laughed when the first batch was turned out to be too close togther on the pan and cooked together into one large lump but by the time they were taking the last of the cookies out of the oven, it seemed that they had mastered the task.

"These are really good, Dad. Like, really, really good," Peter said as he broke another cookie in half and popped a piece of it into his mouth.

"Of course they are. We made them," Tony said before snatching another warm confection off of the plate. Peter laughed in return and he revealed in the sound of it. 

"Us making them is exactly why they shouldn't be this good," Peter said with a smirk that earned him a light thump to the side of his head that made him fall into another fit of giggling laughter.

Tony laughs too and it makes him wonder whether or not he should bring up the email he'd received that morning. He knows that rationally he should, the sooner the better to give the kid time to prepare for the eventuality but he decides that maybe it can wait, at least a few more minutes because at that moment, his boy was happy.


	15. Day 15- Prompt 14: Roadtrip

It was after dinner when Tony decided that it was time to broach the subject of returning to school.   
He'd had a lot of time during the day to think about it and was ready to get that particular conversation over with. "I got an email from your school today," he ended up saying with a faux casual tone.

  
"Oh?" Peter replied once he'd smothered some of the unease that had washed over him. He'd not really thought about school in any capacity over the last few weeks and now that it had been brought up, the last of the cookies he was finishing off didn't taste quite as good anymore. "What, uh, what did that say?"

  
"They suggested that you take a few weeks worth of summer classes to make up your end of the year assessments so that you can start the eleventh grade in the fall. They don't start for a few weeks so I told them that we would see how you feel about it closer to that time. If we need to figure something else out, we will," Tony gently explained, watching the kid's face as he spoke for any signs of distress. 

  
"Okay," Peter breathed out, trying to stay focused on the fact that Tony has said that he had a few more weeks before he had to decide if he was ready to go back or not. There was a tiny part of him that was worried that he'd never be ready. 

  
"But I was thinking, that maybe, we could squeeze in a little road trip before that happened," Tony suggested on a whim. The kid needed to get out of the house and even though it seemed more reasonable to start doing that in small doses, for some reason a little mini-vacation, just the who of them sounded like a good plan. " What do you think, kiddo?"

  
"A road trip?" Peter asked, his voice wavering between intrigue and hesitation.

  
"Sure, we can make a plan or just drive and see where the road takes us. It might be fun," Tony replied with a smile. The more he thought about it the more excited he became. 

  
After giving it some thought, Peter nodded his head in the positive. It still sounded a little intimidating but more than anything it sounded fun and he was willing to give it a try. "Yeah, it might be fun," he agreed. "Let's do it."

  
"That's what I want to hear!" Tony cheered and then hopped up out of his chair to swipe the last cookie off of the kid's plate. "We'll pack up tonight and leave tomorrow morning," he said, already thinking about what kinds of places they could potentially end up. Maybe they'd find a beach or some mountains. Maybe stay at some quirky bed and breakfast, hell, maybe they'd end up in Cambridge and tour the MIT campus. The possibilities were endless. Then he was pulled out of his head when the kid started talking to him again. 

  
"Can we sleep in the fort again tonight?" Peter asked and Tony readily agreed. 

  
Only that night as they settled into their little cove Tony turned on a movie before declaring it to be bedtime, at which point, FRIDAY turned on another episode of Planet Earth without any prompting. Peter settled down and closed his eyes only to open them a few moments later.

  
"Do you think we could maybe sleep in a tent one night, Dad? We don't have to or anything but maybe we could at least stay up late one night and look at the stars?" Peter asked before offering an explanation. "They're kind of hard to see in the city. So I thought that if we ended up somewhere without so much light pollution that we could try."

  
"Sure, Buddy," Tony replied even though camping had never been something that was on his radar. He was more of a five-star hotel kind of guy, but he'd already established that he would do damn near anything for Peter so a night under the stars it was. 

  
After a few seconds of silence, Peter yawned and turned over onto his side, bringing the blanket he was using up under his chin. "Have you ever done anything like this before?" he asked.

  
"Nope," Tony replied before realizing that maybe the kid was trying to ask for a story without asking for a story and smiled a little. "Well, maybe a few times. Kind of." he amended with a thoughtful tilt of his head. When I was in college, I would ride home with Rhodey and spend the holidays with him and his family," he explained, having decided that the two-hour drive in the passenger side seat of Rhodey's beat-up truck had to have counted for something. Especially when they tended to drag it out so that it would be closer to three. "Those trips were always a lot of fun."

  
Peter smiled and snuggled down into the pillows while casually leaning into the hand that had made its way into his hair. "Can you tell me about it?" Peter asked.

  
'There it is,' Tony thought to himself with an inward chuckle before addressing the question. "You, bet, kiddo. Close your eyes," he said and started into the retelling of every single detail he could remember until his boy fell asleep.

  
The next morning, as soon as the sun began to rise, Tony was awake and already getting excited about their pending adventure. He loaded the bags that had been packed the evening before into the car and made it back upstairs just before Peter awoke. "Hey, Buddy! You ready to go?" he asked with enthusiasm.

  
"I don't know," was the first thing out of Peter's mouth but he instantly felt guilty about it. However, now that it was almost time to go, he was starting to get anxious. He'd not left the safety of the tower since he'd arrived home and all of a sudden the idea felt daunting. "I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I mean, Dad. I'm ready. I'm just- I don't know," he vaguely explained.

  
"Well, maybe some breakfast will help," Tony said softly. "You want me to make something for you?"

  
"I can get some cereal. It's fine," Peter mumbled before following through and grabbing a box out of the pantry, knowing that Tony was watching him the whole time.

  
The pair finished their respective breakfasts in silence. Tony finished up his third cup of coffee while the kid got dressed, and then they were out the door. He wasn't terribly surprised when Peter clung to him as they passed through the halls towards the garage. Less so, when the teenager hesitated slightly before getting into the car. Though he didn't seem to require any coaxing so Tony took that as a win.

  
When the car exited the garage, Peter squinted at the right natural light and looked out the window. Even though literally nothing had changed since he'd last been outside, he couldn't take his eyes off of the scenery. He couldn't decide if it was because he'd missed it or if it was because he was nervous. 

  
Being as he was caught up in his head, trying to sort through that train of thought Peter was having trouble keeping up with the conversation that his dad was trying so hard to maintain. He would hum response and hope that his answer had been appropriate. When it sounded as though it wasn't he would sheepishly ask the man to repeat the question.

  
About twenty minutes into the journey, Peter was still fully invested in watching the city pass by. They drove past the alley that he'd been taken from. His first instinct was to squeeze his eyes closed but as he did so he was greeted by Beck's angry scowl and phantom pain in his side where one of his crew has shot him with a tranquilizer meant to take down a raging elephant. 

  
His breath caught in his throat as his eyes snapped back open and he could feel, Tony's hand patting him on the knee. He was pretty sure he was saying something as well but he wasn't paying any attention. He was busy thinking about the blanket fort that was still set up in the living room and even though he knew it was childish he longed to be in it. Something about it felt safe. "Maybe this isn't a good idea, Dad," he whispered. "Maybe we should go home."

  
"We're not even out of the city yet, Buddy. Let's give it a chance okay?" Tony said back as he gently rubbed his hand up and down his boy's nervously bouncing thigh. "All I'm asking for is twenty-four hours. If you still want to go home when we wake up tomorrow, then we'll go," he promised. He knew that the outing was more than a little stretch outside of the kid's current comfort zone but he was hoping that once they had been able to squeeze in some sort of fun that things would ease up. He desperately wanted this to work. "I'll even stop at the next corner store so we can stock up on gummy bears and Dr. Pepper." 

  
Peter looks at the way Tony is smiling beside him and took a deep breath. One day didn't sound that bad so he gaves in. He could give the man one day. "Okay. I can do that," he said with a smile that was only partially forced. "but it's gummy worms, not bears."


	16. Day 16- Prompt 26: Junk Food

"Here we are, Pete," Tony said as he parked the car in front of a nice looking bodega just inside of the city limits. "Let's get in there and pick up some snacks. Anything you want," he said waving his hand in an open invitation.

"Anything?" Peter asked with a grin. Between his enhanced metabolism and his age, he could eat an awful lot. Especially if it involved grease, salt, and copious amounts of sugar. It was a rare treat to be invited to have as much as he wanted of those things.

"Sure, Kiddo. Knock yourself out," Tony replied with a fond shake of his head. 

Then just as Peter was about to giddily hop out of the car he realized exactly how many people were milling around inside of the small store making him instantly uncomfortable. He'd not quite gotten to the point where he wasn't at least a tiny bit antsy around people he knew. He wasn't sure how he felt about mingling around with people he didn't know. "A-actually. Why don't you go in. I can just wait here," he suggested, sounding far more nervous than he meant to.

"If I go in by myself then all I'm getting is a cup of coffee and pack a gum, Kid," Tony replied with a smirk, though he didn't plan on pressing the issue too much. If his boy was really that anxious about it, he'd go in by himself and buy all the candy the kid could possibly want.

Peter frowned and shifted a little in his seat. "What about some gummy worms?" he asked hoping to be able to get at least that. Despite having eaten a decent breakfast he was already starting to feel like he could eat again soon.

"If you want them then come and get them," Tony said couple with an encouraging smile. "You'll be okay. I'll stay with you the whole time," he went on to promise. 

For a few seconds, Peter sat there, looking in the wide windows that lined the side of the corner store. "Can we wait until some of the people leave?" he asked.

"Buddy, they'll just keep coming," Tony returned before taking a chance and simply opening his door with the intent to go inside. "Come on. Let's go."

With a deep breath, Peter cracked his own door open and reluctantly followed his dad inside. They started on the candy aisle that was located closest to the door and while he saw exactly what he wanted, he didn't reach for it. Though he wasn't sure what exactly was stopping him. There was no time to analyze it before the man startled him out of his head.

"Hey look! They have Warheads!" Tony announced with glee, grabbing a bag and turning it over in his hands while smiling ear to ear. "I used to love these things. I'm getting some."

Peter scrunched up his nose in disgust and shook his head. "Those are nasty."

"More for me then," Tony laughed. "What about you? Did you find your gummy bears?"

"Gummy worms, Dad," Peter corrected with a mild roll of his eyes. He was nearly sure that the man was messing with him. 

"Worms, bears- _frogs_ ," Tony began, pausing to point at what was indeed a bag full of green and white gummy frogs. "Whatever. Just grab what you want," he said and then wandered towards the coffee dispenser while still keeping a close eye on his still slightly anxious son.

It didn't take long for Peter to get into the swing of things and soon he was approaching Tony at the check-out with his arms full of various bags os of chips, several packages of gummies, bacon jerky, a couple of sodas, some doughnuts, and a singular bag of M&Ms. He dumped it all on the counter and grinned at his pile as his dad placed a steaming cup, his bag of Warheads and, as promised, a pack of gum down beside it. All the while, ignoring the amused look he was receiving from the cashier. 

"You planning on eating all of that today?" Tony asked as he watched his boy immediately tear into one of the many bags of chips that had been purchased..

"I dunno?" Peter replied through a mouthful of Cheetos, that he chased with a long swig of soda. "Maybe. You did say I could get anything," he added as he ripped open the M&Ms and poured a few into his palm. "Want some?" he asked but when Tony didn't answer right away he popped them into his own mouth instead.

"You're going to make yourself sick," Tony said after watching the kid abandoning the partially eaten bag of chocolate in favor of chewing on some bacon jerky.

"Not likely," Peter laughed. 

Tony continued to gawk at the kid for several more seconds before finally pulling back out onto the street. "Either way, I swear we're getting a salad for lunch just to balance it out," he said, only partially joking. He felt gross just thinking about surviving on prepackaged, overly processed foods for an entire day.

Peter scoffed and washed the dried meat down with some more soda before answering. "No one eats salad on a road trip, Dad" he said with seriousness, though he did opt to put the rest of the food he'd been holding in his lap down into the footwell for later.

"Fine, we'll get deli sandwiches then," Tony conceded with a smile. He supposed that maybe salad wasn't exactly a car-friendly meal. But he wasn't willing to give in completely. "With nine-grain rolls, and lots of lettuce and tomatoes. You're a growing spider-boy. You need vegetables."

"There's fruit juice in the gummy worms," Peter shot back without missing a beat.

"Barely," Tony scoffed without ever taking his eyes off the road. 

Not really having a good counter-argument to that, Peter stayed quiet. He'd not been trying to argue in earnest away. He liked sandwiches, though as he looked out the window at all the passing businesses he found himself craving a fast-food hamburger. "But can we get Burger King or Wendy's for dinner though, right?" he asked feeling fairly confident that his dad would agree.

"You drive a hard bargain, Kiddo," Tony expectantly gave in.

"Is that a 'yes?" Peter excitedly inquired, _just for clarification's sake._

Tony peeked a look at his boy and sighed contentedly at the way he was smiling. "Sure. It wouldn't be a proper road trip without buckets of junk food now would it," he said softly and then held his hand out in anticipation and said, "Now how about you give me some of that bacon."


	17. Day 17- Prompt 19: Memory Lane

"How are you holding up, Kiddo?" Tony asked as he drove down the highway, following the sunset. They had been on the road for hours. 

"I don't think I realized how long it's been since I've had fast food," Peter replied as he placed the last of his food wrappers and an empty drink cups into a bag at his feet. 

"We order pizza on a regular basis?" Tony huffed although he knew where the kid was coming from. They'd been ordering in from restaurants or cooking at home for weeks. Not because having fast food delivered to them wasn't an option but because it simply hadn't crossed his mind. 

"Yeah but that's not the same as getting a drive-thru cheeseburger and fries," Peter replied before picking up the milkshake he'd added to his meal, against Tony's advice, and started sipping at the straw. 

Tony hummed in agreement but then his mind wandered back in time. Then when he realized he'd been silent for too long and that his boy was looking at him with concern he sighed. "You know when I got back from Afghanistan, the very first thing I did was demand a cheeseburger. There were a million other things for me to be worried about but all I wanted was Burger King," he said with a half-smile. "That's my comfort food I guess."

Peter nodded his head. He knew that Tony had been kidnapped overseas, but he'd never really heard the man talk about it before. Part of him wanted to ask questions, like 'how did you ever get past that trauma because I desperately need to know that I can get past mine too' but he didn't. He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath through his nose. "I think, I think my comfort food is Thai," he nearly whispered.

"I know," Tony replied, chuckling lightly at the way his boy thought he was sharing brand-new information. Any time Peter seemed a little too sullen or came home from a particularly rough patrol, he always ordered then Thai for dinner. He found it funny that the kid had never caught on to that.

"You do?" Peter asked, as if on cue because even though he'd known Tony for a while and the two of them were close, he was having a hard time wrapping his brain around the idea that the man could possibly know that much about him. 

"Of course, I do," Tony scoffed. "I know all kinds of things about you."

"Like what?" Peter asked before he could stop himself. 

Without pause, Tony glanced towards his son and smiled before returning his attention to the road. "I know that Ned is your best friend," he said to which his kid rolled his eyes.

"That's easy, Dad. Everyone knows that," Peter said before Tony had the opportunity to tag anything else on. 

"Okay," Tony chuckled, "I also know that you like to wrap yourself up in blankets when you're lying around. Even if it's sixty-eight degrees in the room and you're sweating."

"Blankets are comfy and there are a lot of-" Peter began to argue but Tony was determined to prove exactly how much he knew about his boy and cut him off instantly.

"-I know that you like your grilled cheese to be made with exactly three slices of American, squished down as flat as possible. Your favorite color is red but you like the way you look wearing blue. I know that you don't like ankle socks because they slip down into your shoes-" Tony replied, listing everything little thing he could think of in rapid succession. "-and I know that if you had your way, we would own at least one of every kind of animal starting with a dog."

At that point, Peter was slightly impressed by how much the man actually paid attention to him. Not that he ever felt overlooked or anything but it was nice to know that there was someone alive who cared enough to memorize such trivialities as what kind of socks he preferred. "That's still some pretty basic stuff, Dad," taunted with a grin.

"Oh, you're looking for specifics, are you? Well, how about this. I know you've forged my signature on at least three different school papers since you've come to live with me. -Which is both impressive and infuriating by the way," Tony laughed. He could see the blush creeping up the kid's face and hurriedly continued before eh head time to protest. Though this time, his observation was much less taunting. "I also know that you have a little scar under your chin from where you tripped over your pajama pants and landed on the corner of a coffee table when you were seven. You broke a tooth too but luckily it wasn't a permanent one. You're uncle called you Chip until it finally fell out a year later."

"How do you know about that!" Peter barked out in surprise. It was one thing for the man to have noticed a scar below his chin it was quite another for him to know the story behind it. He was sure he'd never told him about that. He'd never really told anyone about that. It was just one of those faded memories that had only ever come up when his aunt or uncle wanted to tease him. 

"May told me," Tony said softly. "We used to talk about you a lot, you know."

"You did?" Peter asked stupidly. He'd known they had spoken from time to time, but he'd never really given much thought to what they discussed. He'd just assumed that it was all business. Spider-man reports, curfews, and maybe his grades if they ever slipped. 

"Definitely. I would keep her posted on the superhero stuff, and she would fill me in on everything else but for the most part, we just- talked," Tony said, pausing for a moment as he remained. "We would drink coffee and swap 'Peter-stories' until she had to go to work or I got called in to mitigate some sort of disaster."

"I knew you guys talked. I don't guess I knew you talked like that," Peter replied with a smile that was slowly transitioning from sad to hopeful. "So you really were like my other parent then, huh."

May used to call it co-parenting,'" Tony chuckled. At the time he'd brushed the comment off as a joke. It wasn't until after she was gone that that is exactly what that arrangement had been. Sometimes he felt really lost without her guidance. 

Peter nodded his head in agreeance because he could practically hear his aunt saying something like that. She was always bold and straight-forward yet pleasant and teasing all at the same time. Even in the presence of Tony Stark. "When she first found out I was Spider-man she was pretty mad at you," he said as he finished off the last of his milkshake and tucked it into the plastic bag with the rest of the trash.

"Don't I know it," Tony laughed fully. That was a phone call he would never forget. His ears rang just from thinking about it.

"I'm glad that you two go along and everything after," Peter added with a deep sigh. 

Following Peter's lead, Tony sighed as well. "Me too, Buddy," he replied even though, in his head all he could think about was how she probably would have murdered him for allowing her kid to get kidnapped and how he would have deserved it. 

Other than the radio playing lightly in the background the car went quiet as they both retreated into their own heads. Tony trying to remember every bit of advice that May had ever given him and Peter trying to imagine what other things May would have shared with his then, mentor. 

Time passed quickly and soon the last of the golden sunlight slipped behind the horizon as night fell. Peter stared out the window, looking up towards the sky, and yawned despite the fact that it couldn't have been much past ten. "Hey, Dad?" he asked quietly. "Will you tell me all the other stories that Aunt May told you before bed tonight?"

Knowing the real motive behind that question, Tony smiled to himself. "I'd love to, Pete," he replied before checking the time and decided that it wouldn't hurt to go ahead and settled down somewhere for the night. Looking at the way his boy's head was leaning heavily onto the back of the seat he assumed he would agree. 

Peter nodded his head and sighed tiredly, "Cool. -and can we have a bathroom break soon?"

"Sure, Kiddo. in fact, why don't we just call it a night," Tony replied and was unsurprised when Peter agreed. He looked minutes from falling asleep. "Hey, FRIDAY?", he then asked, bringing the AI to life, "Can you get us a room at the closest five-star hotel and send me some directions?" he asked and was nearly instantly presented with a holographic map with a highlighted route making him wonder if she'd anticipated his request. Goodness knows JARVIS would have. But that was a reflection for another time. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, I can't believe that November is OVER half-way through! Where did the time go? Only thirteen more chapters to go! 
> 
> **If you enjoyed this chapter, tell me about it below! Your comments fuel my creativity!! Even if it's just a smiley face!!**
> 
> ********** 
> 
> In other news, I've started writing a Christmas fic and it's already nearly four chapters in! The prologue will be posted towards the end of the month and, unlike this one, it's going to be a lot of straight-up fluff/humor! 


	18. Day 18- Prompt 22: [Platonic] Kisses

Having FRIDAY go ahead and make their evening arrangements turned out to have been a good idea because between the traffic they had run into and the requested bathroom break, it was right at midnight when they finally wandered into their room. That meant that all Tony had needed to do was grab the key and guide his still half-asleep boy to their assigned quarters. 

"I've got your bag right here, Buddy. Why don't you go ahead and change into some night clothes?" Tony suggested as he dropped two small duffle bags onto the dresser.

Peter, having already flopped himself onto one of the beds from the moment they had entered the room dramatically rolled over onto his back so that he could see his dad. "Do I have to?" he groaned because he was already wearing a comfortable pair of cotton shorts and a t-shirt, and that was good enough for him. 

Tony rolled his eyes and pulled out some comfortable clothing of his own. "I'm certainly not going to do it for you," he said with a smirk. "But you should probably, _at least_ , brush your teeth because ninety percent of your calories today came from gummy worms, chocolate, and ice cream."

"Ninety percent seems a bit high, Mr. Stark," Peter sleepily mumbled into the pillow that he'd buried his face in. "Maybe- maybe like, _ten_ percent."

"I'll humor you and give you fifty. No less," Tony shot back with humor before casually launching a toothbrush towards the bed causing the kid to flinch so hard that he nearly banged his head on the wooden headboard. "Shit," he whispered to himself, hurriedly crossing the room to get to his boy. 

Having realized what he'd done, Peter uncurled himself, lowered his hands from his head, and began to apologize. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" he chanted as he watched the man approach him as if he were a wounded animal.

"-No, _I'm sorry,_ Pete. I shouldn't have done that," Tony said softly and then slowly reached out to lay a hand on the side of his boy's face. "Are you okay?"

"Mmhmm," Peter replied, shivering violently and swallowing hard. "I just, my senses, and I felt it coming but I- I don't know. I just- reacted and I don't- I should have caught it. It's so stupid. I have these powers and I shouldn't be-" he rambled, unsure of how he was supposed to explain why he, Spider-man, hadn't simply caught the completely innocent object being lightly tossed in his direction.

"It's okay, Pete. Breathe. In and out," Tony instructed, moving his hand from the kid's face down to his chest. "Your powers are great for a lot of things Buddy, but you've been through so much-" he said, his sentence hitching to an abrupt halt when he decided that he didn't want to say trauma. "It's okay that you still readjusting to everything. You're powers included."

Even knowing that the man was right, Peter couldn't stop his eyes from misting over and that too was embarrassing. He was tired of feeling unsure and longed for normalcy. "How am I ever going to be Spider-man again if I freak out over a toothbrush being tossed in my direction?" he shakily queried.

"It won't be like that forever. You're still healing," Tony promised, wondering how many times he would have to promise that before his boy believed him. "You're already doing so much better than you were on day one. You're doing so much more on your own than you were."

"Showering without you holding my hand is a low bar, Dad" Peter replied through a self-deprecating laugh.

_'Dad',_ Tony thought to himself, as his heart began to swell. Though he tried not to smile, simply because the situation really didn't call for it. "Yeah, well you also ate every single meal today without hesitation and you did way better around strangers than I thought you would," he firmly assessed. 

Rather than agreeing, Peter growled in self-annoyance and turned over onto his stomach so that he could hide his face in the pillows. "Great, so I've set up the expectation that I'm going to flip out over stupid stuff. Awesome," he grumbled.

" _No_ ," Tony pressed as he sat down on the edge of the bed and placed a firm hand on the teenager's back. "Healing. You. Are. Healing. Be patient with yourself."

"I'm trying!" Peter unintentionally snapped but when he looked towards his dad he was relieved to see that he looked unaffected.

"Good. That's good," Tony replied calmly before choosing to change the subject completely. "Are we using both of these beds or just one? Because I don't mind either way," he said, waving his hand haphazardly between the two king-sized beds.

"I-" Peter said, pausing slightly as anxiety gripped his chest and then, once again, growled at himself. He'd already acted like a complete baby about a stupid toothbrush and now he was wavering about whether or not he wanted to sleep alone. "You'll be in the same room with me, I can sleep in my own bed," he finally uttered even though part of him was screaming that he didn't want to wake up alone in such a large bed.

Tony nodded his head and picked up the clothes he'd abandoned on the dresser. "If you change your mind, you know you can always come to me, right?" he asked.

"I know," Peter said, wiping away a frustrated tear as he did so.

Tony changed clothes and prepared for bed quickly, Peter taking his place in the bathroom once he'd exited. Then when they were both settled in their respective beds, Tony grabbed the remote and said, "Let's turn something on," before flipping through the channels.

Eventually, Tony landed on a space documentary and while he didn't love looking at the wide expanses of space, Peter did, so he left it. It was mostly talking about nebulae and stellar evolution anyway and he found himself okay with it. Especially since he was more invested in watching his son than the television. Then, when he noticed his boy starting to fight sleep he turned the volume down and faced him. "Do you still want me to tell you everything that May told me about you?" he asked quietly, so as not to disturb the calm in the room.

"Yeah, That would be nice," Peter replied, rubbing his eyes and rolling over so that he was facing his dad's bed and then allowed the man to talk him to sleep. Though he woke up sometime later feeling completely disoriented. His heart was racing as he blinked around the room, not knowing where he was. The bed felt wrong, the room smelled wrong and he quickly realized that he was _alone._

After the initial shock, it didn't take terribly long for things to began to fall into place. He was, God knows where in a hotel room and Tony was asleep in the bed beside him. With the light coming from the still quietly playing television, he could see the man's body turned away from him and listened closely until he could hear the steady ins and outs of his dad's breathing. Then with a sigh of resignation, he got up climbed into the other bed.

As Peter carefully settled his weight on the mattress Tony stirred awake. Though it was so obvious that the kid was trying not to disturb him that he remained as still as possible until he was sure that his boy had fallen back to sleep beside him, at which point, he rolled over, propped himself up on his elbow, and signed.

For a minute or two, he just looked at his boy's slacken face and casually brushed some of the overgrown hair out of his face. For a moment he considered taking the kid to get his hair cut before wondering if it would be better to have someone come to them. Then, before could stop himself, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to the teenager's forehead, pausing for half a second as his lips made contact. He'd never actually kissed the kid before and the spontaneous action had taken him by surprise but when he pulled back and saw his boy smiling a little in his sleep that feeling passed and was instantly replaced with parental love. After all, _Peter was his baby._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Platonic forehead kisses are my favorite!🥰


	19. Day 19- Prompt 15: Campfire

The next morning, nothing was said about Peter having switched beds during the night. They simply got dressed and had a quite room-service breakfast before deciding how they wanted to proceed with their impromptu vacation. Peter had claimed 'no preference' but Tony, having remembered the kid's earlier request for an evening of star watching went to work to try and decide how to make that happen.

After some research, he located a lakeside cabin for rent near a remote town. The drive would take several more hours but the accommodations seemed to be worth it. The home was spacious and there was a firepit already established in the back yard. Peter agreed to the plan and soon as they had packed up their things, they checked out and hit the road.

"This place is awesome," Peter said in awe as they rolled up the dirt driveway. The sun was hanging low giving them a picturesque view of the backlit cabin, and the surrounding foliage. "There're so many trees..."

"We're in the woods, Buddy. Of course, there are a lot of trees- and bugs," Tony said as a large insect thumped against the windshield. "Probably a few spiders too," he added after some thought.

"At least one," Peter replied with a smile.

Tony barked a laugh and shook his head, reaching over the center console to pat his boy on the knee. "You're right. At least one," he repeated before parking the car and popping the trunk open.

"It's still early, how about we go ahead and unpack," Tony said once they'd put away all of the groceries they'd bought on the way there and gone back for their suitcases. When the kid agreed, he sent him off to pick which of the four bedrooms they would be occupying while they were there.

Peter nodded in agreement and looked around the large open room at all of the various doors and staircases and wandered around. He could feel his anxiety spiking at each turn of a knob. Once he had fully explored the downstairs he took a quick peek at the basement, returning when there was nothing there but a pool table and an empty bar. It wasn't until he climbed the last flight of stairs that he made his decision and called his dad to join him.

"The loft, huh, kiddo?" Tony asked as he climbed the stairs and tried to ignore the way it made his joints creak. His escapades within the Iron Man armor hadn't exactly been gentle on his knees. The landings especially.

"It has a nice view," Peter said with a shrug of his shoulders, moving towards the far side of the room where natural light was pouring in through a large triangular window that faced the lake.

Tony joined his boy at the window and looked out with a sigh. It was a good view. One that none of the other bedrooms could have possibly offered then. "You're right, Buddy," he said before laying down on the decently sized, quilted bed. Almost instantly, Peter lay down beside him and the two of them stayed there staring up at the vaulted ceiling until they both inadvertently dozed off in the cozy little nook.

Sometime later, Peter awoke to a grumbling stomach but other than that he felt content. He stretched his arms over his head and glanced towards the window to find that the orange hues had faded into a deep navy and the moon was starting to crest over the tree line.

"Hey, Dad. Wake up," he said as he gently prodded the man in the arm.

"Hmm?" Tony said, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before registering that the room had grown dim. "Shoot, I didn't mean to fall asleep like that. What time is it?" he asked, groaning as he pulled himself up in a more upright position.

Peter looked down at his watch, unsurprised when he saw exactly how much time had passed. "Almost eight-thirty," he said a yawn that was following by another protest from his stomach.

"Well, it's a good thing that all we planned for dinner tonight was some hotdogs and chips," Tony said, knowing that the teenagers enhanced metabolism hadn't been fed in hours. "I'll go get the fire started. You grab the goods," he instructed and then led the way back down the wooden staircase.

By the time the hotdogs had been cooked and subsequently devoured, night had fallen and the cars were becoming more viable in the sky. Peter looked up, smiling at the view as he finished off the last of the chips he'd carried outside with him. "The smoke makes it kind of hard to seem" he mildly complained giving Tony an idea.

"Follow me," the man said, turning on his phone's flashlight and navigating the two of them down a worn path towards the lake. When they got there Tony took them both to the very end of the floating dock and gingerly lowered himself until he was laying on his back. "Come on, Kid. Get down here," he urged, smiling as the kid complied. "What do you think, Pete?"

"I love it," Peter whispered because for some reason it felt as though talking too loudly would ruin the moment. "They're so bright. It's almost-" he began only to hesitate as he considered the first word that had jumped into his head. "-unreal."

Having felt his boy shuddering beside him, Tony sighed and reached over to grab his hand. "You know that technology- the stuff that that bastard used against you- It's locked up where no one else can get ahold it of it," he said, hoping that the teenager would find that information comforting.

"Where is it?" Peter asked even though he wasn't sure why it mattered. It wasn't like he was going to go looking for it and if Tony said it was locked away then he knew that there was no way anyone else would get their hands on it.

For a moment Tony squared his jaw and contemplated how to answer that question before deciding that he may as well tell the truth. The kid had lied to enough. "It's in a vault at the tower. The idea was for me to eventually pull it apart and see how it ticked before destroying it," he finally replied. "-I haven't exactly been eager to get my hands in it though. When I see it all I can think about is how it hurt you."

Peter nodded his head, thus ending that particular conversation as he brought his attention back to the sky. They stayed there for quite a while, Tony casually pointing out different constellations and using their phones to track exactly what they were looking at until the breeze blowing over the lake had Peter starting to shiver.

"You cold? Ready to go in?" Tony asked.

"Not yet," Peter replied, though he did wish that he wasn't laying there in shorts.

Tony rolled his eyes and sat up with a grunt. "Well, how about we make our way back over to the fire then," he suggested. "I can get it going again and we can roast some marshmallows."

Peter nimbly hopped to his feet, reached out a hand to help his dad up, and smiled. "Yeah. That sounds awesome."


	20. Day 20- Prompt 24: Panic Attacks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another small time-skip, a panic attack, and a very supportive Irondad in this chapter!
> 
> Enjoy!!

Peter and Tony ended up staying at the cabin for a full three days before starting the two-day drive back to New York. They drive until sunset and stayed in another hotel, only to hit the road early the next morning so that they could arrive home sometime before midnight.

As they got close to the tower, Tony looked beside him and smiled. His boy was curled up in his seat presumably texting Ned. Peter had just started really talking to his friend and seemed to be coming out of the shell that that being captured created. That alone made him feel like they were heading in the right direction. All the way up until the next day when he mentioned summer school.

"Hey, Pete? I need you to go through your room and make sure you have all your textbooks and notes," Tony said as he wiped down the table from where they had just finished lunch.

"Why?" Peter asked from the sink where he was rising plates and moving them into the dishwasher.

Tony squinted his eyes and towards the teenager and tilted his head in confusion. "You start your summer program tomorrow, Buddy. Remember?" he asked and got his answer in the form of his kid dropping the plate he'd been holding to the floor where it exploded into a dozen pieces. When the expected apology didn't come he crossed the distance between them and realized that the kid was squeezing the edge of the sink so tightly that the metal was warping slightly under his grasp.

"Kid?" he asked as he put a hand on Peter's shoulder and attempted to manually turn the teenager towards him. It wasn't until he was face to face with him that he realized that the kid was panicking. His chest was moving up and down with shallow breaths and his brows were furrowed with distress.

"I don't want to go to school, Mr. Stark. I- I don't think I'm ready. I don't wanna go," he rambled, and even though there was a very small, rational voice in the back of his head telling him that he was overreacting he couldn't suppress the larger portion of his brain that was screaming _'Danger! Danger! Danger!'_ "Please," he managed to get out between puffed breaths before his legs turned to jello and he slid his back down the counters until he was sitting on the floor.

"Pete," Tony whispered, as he knelt down in front of his boy. "Listen to me, Kiddo. Are you listening?" he asked and waited for Peter to open the eyes that he'd previously squeezed shut and nod his head. "You don't have to do anything you don't feel like you're ready to do. Do you hear me?"

"I have exams!" Peter strained before inadvertently digging his nails into his own crossed arms. " _I have to go_ but I _can't_ and I'm gonna fail. _I'm gonna fail_ , Mr. stark!"

"You're not, Kiddo," Tony pressed while doing his best to pry Peter's fingers open. "I can e-mail your principal and we can figure something else out."

"Like what?" Peter shouted in response.

"I don't know, kid but look who you're talking to," Tony replied with a small smile. "I'll make it work. Just trust me, Baby," he whispered and then attempted to get his boy to breathe more evenly.

Peter tried to keep up with the verbal prompts but his heart was still going a mile a minute. He could feel himself growing increasingly nauseous and that was only adding to the panic because he couldn't seem to find the strength to get up to move towards the trashcan let alone the bathroom. It was taking all of his energy just to get an adequate amount of air in his chest. "I don't feel good," he eventually said followed by a groan.

"That's because you're swallowing so much air. Let's try some deep even breaths, okay?" Tony calmly replied before switching tactics and trying to get the kid to focus on something else. He was elated when it finally started to work. "Feel any better?" he asked once he was sure the teenager was suitably calm.

"I don't know," Peter croaked through his newly formed tears but at least he can breathe again. Though he still felt overwhelmingly exhausted.

"Are you going to be sick?" Tony asked and when Peter indicated that he was okay, he pulled him into a hug, resting his cheek against the side of his head. "I'm going to hug you now, so let me know if that changes," he murmured into the kid's hair.

Peter huffed a laugh and allowed himself to be held right there in the middle of the kitchen floor. With the crippling anxiety having passed his eyelids were growing heavy and he slumped further onto his dad. He was nearly asleep against the man's shoulder when he felt himself being jostled.

"Hey, no sleeping in the kitchen Pete. Up you get," Tony said as he pushed the kid off of him and took both of his hands into his own so that he could encourage him to get up off of the floor before he passed out completely. "Couch or bed?"

"Couch," Peter replied as he reluctantly got up, steadying himself with his dad's outstretched hands.

"Good choice. A shorter walk," Tony quipped as he guided the, expectedly worn-out teenager towards the living room.

Peter hummed in response and laid down but didn't actually fall asleep. Once he had been woken up his brain had woken up too and he was back to being worried about how Tony could possibly get him out of summer school without him having to repeat an entire grade and the man seemed to have sensed his wonderings as he reappeared practically out of nowhere.

"You know I've got you, Kid. I've got this. Everything is going to work out fine," Tony said, giving the boy's shoulder a reassuring squeeze.

"I know," Peter quietly replied over the nagging in the back of his head telling him otherwise.

Tony sighed and decided that if his boy was going to feel bad about missing the summer classes then he was probably going to require a decent distraction until he got everything sorted out. Then the kid's phone buzzed giving him an idea. "Why don't you message Neddo and see if he wants to come over tomorrow. You haven't seen him a while and I'm not sure how he's managing to survive without you," he proposed.

Peter gave it some thought. He did miss Ned. He'd not seen him in some time but he wasn't sure how he felt about his friend seeing him so- broken down. He's Spider-man and Ned thought that he was absolutely amazing and then he'd managed to get himself caught and- well, he didn't want to ruin that. However, at the same time, he knew that Ned was more just a friend. He was his best friend and therefore had already witnessed him at some of his very lowest points. He'd been there for him with his uncle died, he'd been there for him when his aunt died too. In reality, he knew that he would undoubtedly stand by him through anything without judgment. Besides, as Tony had said previously, he was doing better. Not great but there had been improvements and maybe hanging out with his friend was exactly what he needed. "Yeah. That's a good idea, Dad. I'll shoot him a text," he sighed out making the man smile. 

"Good deal, Buddy," Tony said, patting the teenager once more on the arm. "I'll leave you to it" he added and then walked back into the kitchen to sweep up the broken ceramic.


	21. Day 21- Prompt 27: Park

Having been eager to see his friend after such a long stretch, Ned was at the tower not even thirty minutes after Peter had messaged him to let him know that he had woken up the next day. Though, the reunion wasn't quite as dramatic as Tony had assumed it would be. Peter had hesitantly answered the door and Ned, while still being all smiles had approached his friend with gentle caution. There was no squealing or hugging but after a few seconds of simply looking at each other over, Peter had reached his hand out, instigating their long-since established, not-so-secret handshake.

"It's good to see you, my dude," Ned finally said.

"Yeah, man. You too," Peter returned after swallowing back the lump in his throat. "Let's uh, let's go to my room," he suggested but cut his eyes instantly towards Tony as if to ask for permission.

Tony nodded his head encouragingly and smiled at the two boys. "I'll come to get you for lunch," he said and then watched as the two teenagers awkwardly made their way down the hall.

Peter sat at the edge of his bed and chewed on his lip while Ned looked to be internally debating where he was meant to be. "Do you want to build some legos or something?" he asked in an attempt to ease the tension that had built around them.

"Sure. Whatever you want to do, Peter," Ned replied with a tense smile. "I'm just glad to see you."

With another nod of his head, Peter disappeared into his closet, returning a few moments later with one of the many unopened Lego kits that Tony had purchased long before he'd taken up permanent residence in the penthouse. Then he sat down on the carpet, Ned following suit, as he tore open the box.

For a while, they sorted the bricks and built in complete silence. Not a comfortable silence but it wasn't exactly an uncomfortable silence either. It was just strange. Normally when they were together there was constant rambling and laughter. or at minimum, a conversation. But neither of them really knew what to say.

After having stuck his head into the quiet room at least three times, Tony sighed. He found himself eager for lunch to roll around just so that he would have the opportunity to take charge of the situation and encourage the two to talk, even if it was just about Legos, Star Wars, or whatever other nerd things they usually talked about. Then he decided that perhaps his best course of action was to interrupt them ahead of schedule and pull them out of the penthouse altogether.

"Hey, boys?" he said as he gently knocked on the doorframe. "I was thinking that we could just go out for lunch. Maybe go to the park or something after," he casually announced and watched as relief crossed his son's face in particular.

They ended up walking a few blocks to a nearby deli. Tony asked Ned what hed' been up to for the summer and nonchalantly pressed for Peter to talk about their stay at the cabin. And by the time their meals were eaten, the conversation was flowing almost naturally.

From there they walked another block or so towards a small inner-city park. There wasn't much to it. Just a few benches, a short walking trail, and a tiny building that housed a pair of public restrooms but it was a nice enough place to spend some time.

Tony began to walk to the trail, taking care to keep the boy's several paces in front of them. Close enough that he could smile at his son whenever he checked over his shoulder to see if he was still nearby but far enough away that he couldn't hear what they were saying.

'I'm sorry I didn't text you sooner," Peter finally said to his friend with a sigh. "I just wasn't in my right mind and I-" he tried to elaborate but found his chest clenching as he spoke.

"It's fine, dude. I get it," Ned said before backtracking slightly. "Well, I don't _fully get it_. I mean I've never been in a situation like- like that but I get it that you needed some time to recover or whatever."

"Yeah," Peter agreed as he absentmindedly reached down to pick a stone up off the sidewalk and tossed it into the pond. He still felt guilty. Ned hadn't even crossed his mind for the first few days that he'd been home and even after he'd picked his phone back up for the first time in at least a month, he'd not made an effort to return any of this text until well after that. "You know I'm still not all the way- _better_ ," he mumbled but his friend seemed to hear him anyway.

"I know," Ned said back, pausing to pick up a few rocks to carelessly cast, one after the other, towards the water as well. "And I don't think anyone expects you to be. You were kidnapped and, well, Mr. Stark said that they did some really messed up stuff to you-" he attempted to elaborate, not realizing that his words would strike a nerve.

"-I don't want to talk about any of that!" Peter nearly shouted, glancing quickly over his shoulder to see if Tony had noticed but if he had, he wasn't letting on. He appeared to be fully invested in watching a group of young duckling following behind their mother as they crossed the pond.

"Okay, then we won't," Ned replied not sounding the least bit daunted by his friend's outburst. "-but you that you can, right? I'm your guy-in-the-chair. You can tell me anything."

"Yeah, Ned. I know," Peter replied after a pause, and then there was silence. They both sat down on the grass near the bank of the pond, alternately throwing clods of dirt and skipping stones across the water.

After some time, Peter began to slowly open up. He gave his friend a vague rundown of what had taken place while he was in captivity. He knew it probably wasn't much more than what Tony had already told him but from the way Ned was looking at him, it didn't seem as though it mattered. Beyond that, he threw in a few small details, nothing overly specific just enough for his friend to have a basic understanding of what he'd been dealing with. Though he realized that by doing so he was more than likely explaining his antsy behavior in the process. He was just glad that he'd not had to have Tony check his food for him after the waitress had haphazardly slid his plate across the table, making him flinch.

"You know even after all of that, you're still the strongest, coolest most amazing person I know, right?" Ned said with conviction.

Peter scoffed and stared across the pond for the sole purpose of avoiding eye-contact. "Ned, I haven't even put _on_ the Spider-suit for nearly _two months_ ," he said feeling self-disappointment settle in his stomach the moment the admission had left his lips.

"Dude. I'm not even talking about Spider-man," Ned replied with so much sincerity that Peter had no choice but to turn and look at him. "I'm talking about you. You're is my best friend. The fact that you're also Spider-man is, like- _secondary_. You, even without the suit, are still the strongest, coolest, and most amazing person I know."

"Thanks, Ned," Peter sheepishly returned. He didn't necessarily agree but it was still nice to hear. He considered saying more but before he could decide, Tony was cupping his hands around his mouth and raising his voice to gain their attention.

"Hey, Boys?" Tony called from the distance. "As shady as it is by these trees, _I'm hot_. Ready to head back?" he asked even though he was already starting to turn towards the park's exit but it was fine. Both teenagers had instantly stood up and begun to follow him towards the rush of the city. But this time as they walked the sounds of the neighborhood were dulled by the constant chatter of the two boys behind him and he smiled. It was like music to his ears.


	22. Day 22- Prompt 25: Going back to School

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There will be more Ned coming up soon! - and a little bit of MJ too but until then... have some protective Irondad with a healthy serving of fluff.

For Peter, the next few weeks rushed by in a hurried fashion. He was given permission to study at home and only had to go into the school for one day, to take his exams. He'd managed to get through that day knowing that Tony was waiting for him right outside and a few short days later had been notified that he's passed all of his classes.

When he wasn't studying, he was spending time with Ned or the other Avengers and at times would do so without needing Tony to stay nearby. Though that didn't mean that everything was just peaches and cream. Nightmares were still near-nightly events and he could count on one hand the number of times he'd spent an entire night in his own bed. He was still startled at sudden movements, freezing up at the mention of certain words or in certain situations, and having days where eating and leaving the penthouse were more of a struggle than he felt like they should be. Those things making the last few days leading up to the start of the new school year that much harder.

"Look, Buddy. If you're not ready then we can set up some sort of digital learning option or, I don't know, I could homeschool you or something. No one is forcing you to go back yet," Tony said one evening when he could practically taste the anxiety that was rolling off of his boy in waves.

After dropping down onto the couch, Peter scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. "I need to go back. I have to be- _normal_ ," he stated even though he realized that there was probably nothing about his life that even remotely resembled any variety of normal.

"Normal is _highly_ subjective, Kid," Tony said with a half-cocked smile despite the seriousness of the conversation. Like, Peter, he was fairly sure that there was nothing normal about the kid. The fact that he was part spider being high on the list.

Not being in the mood for humor, Peter threw his head back and glared. "Well, I want to go back to _my normal_ and that means going to school like everyone else!" he growled.

" _Hey_ , easy there, Kiddo," Tony mildly chastised. The kid didn't shout at him often and he could understand where the outburst had come from so he didn't really feel the need to crack down on it. More than anything he wanted to explain where he was coming from. "I'm not trying to squash your self-expectations. I'm just suggesting that there are interim steps towards you doing that if you feel like jumping back into going to school at Midtown is too much. One could even say that you need to take it slow _is normal_ ," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"It's weird enough that I-" Peter snapped, cutting himself off when he registered his own tone. "-that I disappeared for the last few weeks of the last school year. I don't want anyone to notice that I'm missing the first few weeks of this one as well," he finished with a whine.

"Who cares if they notice?" Tony scoffed.

"I don't want to have to talk about it!" Peter pressed in return.

"Kid, there are going to be questions either way," Tony returned without missing a beat. Then he realized that he'd never actually had any kind of discussion with the kid about what the media had been told about his absence. "When the adopted son of Tony Stark goes missing it isn't exactly passing news, Buddy. Your face was plastered all over the television for weeks. I didn't release much information outside of conforming that you were missing and a short press release announcing that you had been located as were safe at home with your family. And while I would hope that the kids at your school would have enough tact to not ask you about any of that, Some of them might."

"Well, reiterating that I had been _literally kidnapped_ sounds much easier than having to explain that I was scared to come back to school," Peter replied without thought.

"Are you, though?" Tony asked with sympathy. "Are you scared about going back to school?"

"A little," Peter admitted with a defeated sigh though he didn't go into any details as to what he was worried about. He didn't want the man to worry about him worrying. "But I still want to go. Ned will meet me at the front of the school like he always does and I'll be fine. Besides, we already compared our schedules. Somehow we managed to have all but two classes together."

Tony smiled a little to himself because that had been his doing but he would never in a million years tell the kid that. "That's great, Buddy. I'm glad you'll have your best bud looking out for you all day," he said with nothing but honesty. Knowing that his boy wouldn't have to spend the day feeling alone makes him feel better about allowing him to go.

"Yeah, he's really good at that kind of thing," Peter said with a slight nod of his head. He really couldn't have asked for a better best friend. "I'm going to be okay."

"I know you will, Buddy," Tony replied and then stretched his arm across the couch to pull his boy closer to him. "You're a strong kid. I just tend to worry about you."

"I know," Peter replied, allowing himself to melt into the man's side. "-and I really appreciate it. I'm glad I still have someone to worry about me."

"Well, I can't promise that I'll be around forever but I can promise you that as long as I'm here, I will _always_ worry about you," Tony swore before casually kissing the side of the kid's head, just above his temple.

"Because I'm your baby?" Peter asked with the intention of teasing but it came out of his mouth sounding entirely too genuine for it to pass as such.

"Because _I love you_ ," Tony corrected with a soft smile. "I worry because I love you."

Peter nodded his head and closed his eyes, savoring the closeness that his relationship with Tony had grown to become before whispering back, "I love you too."


	23. Day 23- Prompt 18: Hot Cocoa

"So," Tony began as he sat himself down beside Peter on the couch and handed him a large mug of hot cocoa. "You fo back to school tomorrow. How are you feeling about that?"

Peter accepted the warm treat and breathed in the steam, smiling when the smell of chocolate filled his nostrils. A tentative sip revealed that the liquid was just cool enough to drink leading to several more satisfying sips. "This is really good," he said rather than answering his dad's inquiry.

"It should be," Tony said with a teasing grin. "I made it."

"You made this?" Peter asked in complete surprise. "Like, from scratch?"

Tony huffed a laugh and turned his body so that he was facing more towards his son. "Is that so surprising?"

"I guess not," Peter replied before bringing the mug back up to his lips. "I just don't think I've ever had homemade cocoa before,"

"Well, now you have," Tony flippantly remarked before nudging the kid gently to the arm. "And on that note, how about we circle back around to my original question. How are you feeling about going to school tomorrow?" he asked but when all he received was a shrug on the shoulders he sighed. "Very articulate, Pete."

"I'm sorry," Peter mumbled into his cup. "I just don't know what to say."

With a nod of his head, Tony finally picked up the mug he'd made for himself and took a long drink. "Are you still worried?" he asked hoping that by rephrasing the inquiry to a yes or no kind of question that he might actually get an answer.

"Sort of?" Peter replied not quite willing to admit how much he was actually dreading being away from his home where everyone and everything was familiar to him. "I'm not going to change my mind or anything."

"I didn't think you would, Buddy," Tony replied with a tone that was somewhere between admiration and exasperation. He loved Peter's strong independent side but he also knew that the kid wasn't quite back to himself just yet and he didn't want him to feel pressured to finish the day. "I was just checking in with you."

Peter held onto his mug with both hands, squeezing it, maybe a little more tightly than he should have, before taking a deep breath. "I'm fine," he stated with wary conviction. "I'll _be_ fine."

In the days before Peter wormed his way into heart, Tony would have taken him at his word but now that the kid was _his kid_ he felt the need to question it. Not because he thought that the teenager was incapable because he knew that he was anything but that. He knew that Peter could do a lot of amazing things but none of those things negated the fact that he'd been through more trauma in the last year alone than most people went through in a lifetime. "You know you can call me if your not, right?"

Peter hummed around the mug that was at his mouth and gently nodded his head. "I know but I really don't think it will be necessary," he said even though what he was thinking was, _'I really don't want it to be necessary.'_

"Alright, Kid. I get that but I just want to make doubly sure that you understand that you're still recovering and that it's okay if you decide, at any point, that you need to leave. I need you to know that you can call me and that I will come straight there to get you," Tony said with a sigh.

Peter looked up at his dad and smiled. "I have no doubt," he said already imagining Tony landing in front of the school and bursting through the front in full iron man armor.

" _And_ just so you know," Tony added, "Your side-kick has my number in his phone too as does the office, the nurse, and-" he began to list off.

"-Dad!" Peter laughed, nearly sloshing the last bit of cocoa over his hands. "I get it. I _promise_ to call you if I need you," he said and he meant it. He just really hoped it wouldn't come to that. He really hoped he could tough it out. That he could do _something_ on his own.

"That's all I ask," Tony said softly and then they both went back to sipping at their drinks.

With quiet surrounding them, Peter could feel his nerves starting to settle in his stomach. He looked briefly towards the clock on the wall and tipped his head back against the cushions. It was already after ten and he knew that he was going to have to get up early. That meant going to bed at a reasonable hour but the problem was that regardless of the comforting drink and the reassuring conversation, he knew that the anxious anticipation of the day to come was going to affect his ability to rest. He knew, without a doubt, that the night would be filled with nightmares and that he would be better off not trying to sleep alone. So he bit the bullet. "Can I maybe just go to sleep in your bed tonight?" he asked realizing exactly how petulant he sounded, especially after having spent the last fifteen minutes trying to prove that he wasn't.

"Of course you can," Tony replied without judgment, leaving out the fact that the kid more than likely would have ended up in his bed anyway. Even though he'd been starting the night in his own room anymore, he almost always woke up to his boy crawling under the covers beside him at some point during the night. Not that he minded in the least. He knew it wouldn't last forever and if that was what the kid needed to feel safe then it was fine by him.


	24. Chapter 24- Prompt 21: Hugs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO MANY HUGS in this chapter!!

Waking up for the first day of school didn't hold the same kind of excitement as it had in years past. He'd woken up still tired from a restless sleep and had spent the entirety of breakfast trying to assure tony that, yes, he really did feel up to attending school and that, no, he really didn't want to be picked up early. Going to school after only getting a few hours of sleep wasn't exactly unusual for him. Though admittedly that was typically due to intentionally ignored curfews and last minutes studying as opposed to trying to calm down enough to get back to sleep after a night-terror.

"You know what? I think I'm going to drive you this morning," Tony said, grabbing his phone out of his pocket so that he could alert Happy of the change in plans.

"You don't have to do that," Peter nearly whined even though part of his was glad to hear it. He liked Happy. He liked Happy a lot and definitely felt safe with him but he still felt three-thousand times safer with Tony nearby. Allowing the man to dive him to school would shave a good thirty minutes off of the six hours he was meant to be away from him. He wasn't about to voice any of that though.

Tony grabbed his keys and shoved them into his pocket before picking up Peter's school back and tossing it over his shoulder with a grunt. "I want to do it," he said before dropping the bag back onto the floor. "What the hell do you keep in this thing? It weighs three tons."

With a roll of his eyes, Peter made a show of picking the bag back up with ease. "Books, lots of books, writing utensils and at least six three-ring-binders. And some snacks for my locker and the lunch you made me," he said, failing to mention that he'd also tucked the Spider-suit into the bottom of the bag. He knew he wouldn't actually use it, he wasn't sure he was ready but there was some amount of security that came from knowing it was there if he needed it.

"Lordy," Tony said as he rubbed his shoulder where the strap had dug into it. "How do all the scrawny, little, non-enhanced kids at your school, not all suffer from chronic back pain?" he asked with a smirk.

"Because of lockers, pain killers and mediocre healthcare I presume," Peter returned with a shrug of his shoulders that turned into a grin when the man barked a laugh before leading them out the front door.

The ride to the school wasn't bad. They avoided the block where he'd been captured and Peter was certain that it had nothing to do with the traffic as his dad had suggested. Even still he was glad they didn't drive down that particular road. He was already feeling mildly uneasy without the memories that would have flooded him had they done so.

Then his phone buzzed in his pocket and he smiled. "Ned said that he's already out front waiting for me," Peter said before silencing his phone completely and slipping it into the front pocket of his backpack.

"Good, deal," Tony said in return, and before either of them knew it they were pulling into the parent drop-off lane. "Don't forget that you can-"

"-Call you if I need to come home. I know," Peter interjected

"I was going to say that you could call or text me if you needed anything," Tony playfully mocked. "-but yes, absolutely call me if you need to come home."

Peter let out a small groan and nodded his head in the affirmative. "I will, I just- well, I really want this to work," he asserted.

"I know you do, Buddy but it's okay if you can't. There are other days," Tony said softly as he pulled the car forward and paused at the entrance for Peter to climb out. "I love you, kiddo," he said, grabbing the kid's arm and tugging him over so that they could share an awkward hug over the center console.

"I love you too," Peter murmured back before kicking his door open and climbing out of the car.

As Peter leaned in to collect his things, Tony looked past him to find Ned descending the stairs and heading towards them. Once he was sure he had the other boy's attention, he waved and managed to shout, "Have a good day, Boys!" before his kid had time to slam the door shut.

"Dude, I'm so glad you're here," Ned said with enthusiasm as they finished up their handshake with a hug, neither of them paying any attention to the way people were watching them.

"Me too, man," Peter replied in earnest as the two of them separated before walking inside where, as expected, the halls are crowded and making his senses go absolutely crazy. It felt as though his spider-induced-anxiety was been feeding off of his trauma-induced-anxiety, leaving him trying to fight against both of them at the same time and it was frustrating because it was just school. There was nothing there to warrant that level of dread.

Between his internal stings of consolation and Ned's pleasant company, he managed to get to his locker without incident. He could hear his name being spoken in the background as he unloaded his bag but he was able to ignore it easily enough with his friend still happily rambling in his ear. He was just starting to relax when the first bell rang causing him to flinch but no one seemed to notice. Except for Ned who simply gave him an encouraging smile before leading the way towards the classroom where Mr. Harrington was standing just outside the door.

"Peter! Oh, thank God you're okay," the man said in lieu of greeting as he haphazardly grabbing ahold of Peter's head, yanking it to his chest, and giving it a quick pat before releasing it. "I was worried about you."

"I'm fine, Mr. Harrington," Peter replied while using his hands to attempt to make his mussed hair lay flat again. He'd not exactly been expecting the rushed show of affection and wasn't exactly sure about how to proceed. "Uh, thanks for, uh... caring?" he managed to awkwardly respond only to realize that the man was already fully distracted by a group of students who were bickering about seats. He decided to take that as his cue to find his seat as well.

Once the first few classes of the day were over, the perpetual anxiety Peter had been feeling since the night previously began to fade just enough that he could breathe a little easier as he passed through the uncomfortably crowded hallways. The bells were still too loud and the constant utterance of his name was annoying but he was doing okay. Okay, enough that when he and Ned got separated by the rush of students heading towards the lunchroom, he didn't feel completely overwhelmed. He just continued to hurry his way through the sea of teenagers, only pausing when MJ started approaching him with a curious look on her face.

"Hey, Loser," She said as she approached. "Glad you're back."

"Really?" Peter replied stupidly before he could stop himself. Though he cringed the moment the singular word had left his mouth.

Taking it ins tried, MJ shrugged her shoulders and adjusted the books she was carrying. "Sure. Why wouldn't I be," she asked while looking him over with scrutiny.

"I- I don't-" Peter flusteredly sputtered before taking a deep breath in through his nose and out of his mouth, blowing the fringe of his bangs away from his forehead. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that" he finally admitted.

With a huff of a laugh and a shake of her head, MJ shoved her books into the bag she had hanging over her shoulder and grabbed him by the arm. "Just shut up and get over here," she said, subsequently pulling him into a fierce hug. "-and promise me that you'll never do that again

After the initial shock of having MJ wrap her arms around his neck, Peter was able to process what she'd just said and scrunched his face up in confusion. "What? Get kidnapped?"

"Yeah," MJ replied, abruptly ended the embrace, brought her face back to neutral, and brushed her loose bangs to the side. "I was forced to allow Flash to step up into your spot on the Decathlon team and he was absolutely insufferable," she said, completely straight-faced.

"Well, that makes sense," Peter returned with a nod of his head. "-and I promise to, you know, do my best to not get, um- kidnapped ever again," he rapidly promised, letting out an involuntary squeak when the girl, suddenly leaned forward to hug him all over again.

"I'm holding you to that," MJ said, not letting go of Peter's neck until she spotted Ned making his way through the crowd, at which point she released her hold and took several steps backward. Then just as Ned had finally caught up with them, she turned on her heels, calling, "I've got to get to the library before lunch. See you later, Dorks!" over her shoulder as she walked away.

"Was that MJ?" Ned asked, having not gotten a good look at her before she'd disappeared around the corner.

"Yeah," Peter mused, still looking at the empty space where she'd been standing. "-And I think, I think she likes me-"

Ned raised his eyebrow and nudged his friend on the shoulder. "Sure. Whatever you say, Dude" he said before taking the lead and heading towards the lunchroom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... Peter got a quick hug from Tony, a great big hug from Ned and MJ, and a sort of half-hearted hug from Mr. Harrington. Which one of the was the most surprising? 😂😂
> 
> I FINALLY finished writing the last chapter for this fic!


	25. Day 25- Prompt 17: Flashbacks

As it turned out, lunch was the most anxiety triggering part of the day. The Lunchroom was just as loud and crowded as the hallways but there was no escaping it. On top of that, there was the smell of all of the foods mingling together, something that he used to love but now it made his stomach turn.

He tried to block it out. He sat at a table in the corner and took a few deep breaths while he waited for Ned to return with his tray. In the interim, MJ plopped herself down at the end of the same table with an apple in one hand and a book in the other. She didn't seem eager to speak to him again but he didn't miss the way her eyes would periodically lift from the page and fall on to him. Then the next thing he knew, a tray was being slammed down across from him causing him to grunt and take on a defensive posture.

"Sorry, Peter," Ned said with remorse. He knew his friend was on edge, he was just hungry and hadn't thought to announce his reappearance. "-but check this out I think these are real potatoes. I got two servings just in case but they look real right?" he asked as he joyfully dug a fort into a heap of lumpy mashed potatoes sparsely topped with cheese.

Peter swallowed hard, nodded his head, and felt every single one of his food insecurities come rushing back into his head. He'd never been more grateful that he'd allowed Tony to pack his lunch for him. Typically he fought the gesture, saying that he could get by on school food and a few snacks but he unpacked his paper bag he could picture the man putting it together in front of him, picking at the scrapes as he did so. At the time he'd not thought anything of it but now he wondered if it had been intentional. Either way, it seemed to help. He was able to unwrap his sandwich and force the first into bite into his mouth without any prolonged debate.

Ned continued to chatter, ostensibly unaware of exactly how uncomfortable Peter was becoming. Then, to make matters worse, a group of freshmen spotted him and started talking amongst themselves. He could hear his name and Tony's name spreading throughout the room until he was no longer able to ignore it. Especially once Flash got involved.

"Can we just shut up about Penis Parker?" Flash shouted with heat, thus gaining everyone's attention. The room went nearly quiet as a result. "He's a ward for fuck's sake. It's not like Tony Stark is his real dad."

At those words, Peter's breath caught in his throat. His hearing muted and his vision began to swim with images of his Tony's face smiling at him promising him rescue before turning to pixels and fading away leaving him alone in a cold, damp room, fighting back tears of disappointment because it had been another trick. Tony hadn't been real. _Not his real dad._

"Peter?" Ned called out when he noticed that his friend had paled and was shaking. "What's happening?"

"He's having a flashback, dumbass," MJ said as he slowly approached Ned's side and grabbed his arm before he could reach out to grab Peter's arm. "Don't touch him," she hissed and then turned to the gathering audience, "There's nothing to see here! Move along," she spat before turning her attention back to Peter who had at some point, slid off of the bench and was huddling under the table with his eyes flickering around the room but obviously unseeing.

"What do we do?" Ned frantically asked.

Rather than answer, MJ began to bark orders, turning fort towards Flash who was at least having the decency to look slightly concerned, "Go get the nurse," she demanded, then looking towards Ned. "-and you call his guardian or something."

"What are you going to do?" Ned asked just as the lunch monitor belatedly showed up on the scene.

"I'm going to make sure that the rest of these idiots leave him alone," she said daring to glare at the teacher who looked terribly out of her element. "We just need to make sure he's safe until his dad can get here."

Ned nodded his head and immediately began to dial Tony's number, wondering the whole time how MJ knew so much about flashbacks. He did't have time to contemplate it much seeing as the line only rang once before the man was picking up already asking a thousand questions.

"Is he on his way?" MJ asked, having successfully convinced the teacher to herd the other students to the other side of the room and out the side door to the yard to finish their lunch break. "The nurse is trying to get through to him but so far all she's managed to do is take him back up further under the table," she said, and when Ned confirmed that he was, she gathered her things and announced that since everything was under control hat she was going to go to class.

By the time Tony arrived, Peter was all the way in the corner with his eyes squeezed shut, his hands over his ears, and was mumbling incoherently under his breath. He looked towards Ned who was seated on the floor nearby speaking gently to his son and the nurse who was standing there observing. "Pete?" he whispered as he knelt down in front of his boy. "Hey, it's me, Buddy. I'm real and you're safe."

"No, you're not," Peter whimpered, not bothering to open his eyes. "Just leave me alone."

"I can't do that Pete," Tony replied. "I need you to open your eyes and look at me, Baby," he said, smiling when Peter hesitantly cracked an eye open at the demand. "I'm very real. You're at school and your side-kick over there called me to come and take you home. Do you want to go home?"

After a few blinks, Peter looked towards Ned and then back at his dad before bringing his eyes over to the familiar nurse. "Home?" he asked because in all the time he'd been in captivity, the bad guys had never made him believe that he was at school or that Ned was with him. "I'm at school?"

"You're at school," Tony patiently repeated and then crawled towards the table towards where his boy had burst into silent tears. "Come here, Pete," he said after only a few paces. "I'm too old to be crawling around on the floor and frankly, I'm not sure this linoleum has ever been mopped. This is gross."

Peter huffed a small wet laugh and pulled himself towards his father's waiting arms, breathing him in and savoring the warmth of his embrace. "I wanna go home."

Tony nodded his head and helped Peter to his feet before turning to thank both Ned and the nurse. Then lead his boy out the front doors.


	26. Day 26- Prompt 11: PTSD

"What happened, Pete?" Tony asked once they were on the road. All he knew was that the kid had been eating lunch and then, according to Ned, suddenly freaked out and went under the table. He had his suspicions, but he didn't want to assume anything incorrectly. Though it also occurred to him that perhaps he just didn't want to believe that his boy was having flashbacks. That was something he wouldn't wish on anyone, especially his sixteen-year-old son.

"I don't know," Peter replied with a vigorous shake of his head.

"I think you do know," Tony softly replied, knowing that he was more than likely about to touch a nerve. "Talk to me, Buddy."

"I don't want to talk about it!" Peter snapped in return.

With a deep sigh, Tony glanced towards his boy and then back to the road. "We need to talk about it, kid. I can't help you if we don't talk about it," he tried to gently explain, and when it looked as though the teenager was actually considering opening up he made a point of keeping his eyes stright ahead. He didn't want to put too much pressure on the kid and make him clam up.

"I just- Flash said something and I don't know," Peter said after some thought. Logically he knew the man was trying to help him but he was worried. He wasn't sure how to answer that particular question without sounding unstable. "My brain went haywire or something and I forgot where I was," he finally elaborated before pulling his lip between his teeth and whispering, "Do you think going crazy?"

"You're not going crazy, Buddy," Tony said with a sigh and a reassuring smile. "I do think you might have PTSD though."

"No, I don't. I can't," Peter replied because he'd only ever heard that acronym used in conjunction with veterans and war heroes and he wasn't sure that his experience had been comparable. "I'm not a- I'm not a soldier. I didn't go to war or anything like that, Dad. I'm just- I don't know. Not that."

Having a full understanding go where the kid's mind was going, Tony pulled into the nearest parking lot and turned off the car. "Pete. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder isn't something that only soldiers can be diagnosed with. Anyone who's been through absolutely _any_ kind of trauma can be can suffer from those kinds of symptoms. There are no rules, no special circumstances, there's not even an _age requirement._ It's about your experience and how your brain is processing or _not processing_ your trauma. It's right there in the name, Buddy. Post _Traumatic_ Stress Disorder."

For a few minutes, Peter just sat there and let those words sink in. He supposed he didn't really know that much about PTSD short of what he'd seen in the movies and that caused some curiosity to take over. "What kind of symptoms?" he asked, not quite meeting his father's eyes. He wasn't really sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, kiddo, it's not really a cookie-cutter disorder. Everyone has a different experience with it but nightmares, anxiety, mood swings, avoidance, and distrust are a few." Tony listed off in rapid succession, trying to stick with the little red flags that he'd seen his son display over the last several weeks. He wasn't trying to overwhelm him with a laundry list of manifestations that he may never exhibit. However, he hesitated before mentioning the most recent display. "-those and, well, flashbacks."

Peter nodded his head and swallowed hard. "Is that what you think happened today?" he asked even though, once he thought about it, it made perfect sense.

"I do," Tony replied, "I think that kid said something that triggered you into having one hell of a flashback."

"Can it be fixed?" Peter asked, his tone verging on a whine. "Or am I always going to be like this?"

Tony took a deep breath in through his nose and grabbed hold of his boy's bouncing knee, giving it a gentle squeeze. "No, Buddy. With proper treatment, all of those things will start to fade. How long that takes depends on the person and how much support they have."

"How do you know so much about this?" Peter asked next and Tony wasn't really sure about the best way to answer that question but after a few moments of quiet contemplation, he realized that being forthcoming was probably the way to go.

"I've- Well, I've been recovering from PTSD for a long time, kid," he tentatively began but as uncomfortable as the subject made him, he hoped that sharing his experience would help the kid feel a little bit less alone. "Between, Afganistan, having my house blown up, nearly killing Pepper, and that damn wormhole in New York- me having PTSD was sort of a given. It took me a while to recognize it for what it was and even longer for me to seek help but once I did- I've been getting better and better all the time," he finished and then rubbed his hand over his face before looking towards his boy.

"Did you have flashbacks?" Peter asked before he could think about how personal of a question that probably was. But before he had time to backtrack his dad was already answering him.

"I used to. I had quite a few panic attacks and a lot of nightmares too," Tony explained with a small smile.

"But not anymore?" Peter asked, hope clearly shining in his eyes.

"Rarely," Tony replied and then tipped his head to the side as he made a small amendment. "I may have had a small relapse while you were gone but I'm doing okay now," he assured, patting the kid's leg for reassurance.

The fact that his dad, _Iron Man_ had PTSD was both surprising and unsurprising at the same time. He knew how much his dad had been through he'd just never realized that it had ever affected him. He'd never seen the man panic over anything but in a way it was reassuring to know that maybe he wasn't overreacting or taking too long to get over it all. Maybe he really did just need some help. He just wasn't clear what that meant, bringing him to his next question. "How do you fix it?" he asked.

"Therapy is a good start," Tony said, laughing when the kid's eyebrows came together in a bunch.

" _You_ went to therapy?" Peter asked incredulously.

"Sounds pretty farfetched, doesn't it?" Tony asked as he continued to chuckle at the look of awe plastered to his boy's face.

Realizing that maybe that hadn't been the best was to handle that information Peter sheepishly ducked his head and started toying with the hem of his shirt. "Sort of," he mumbled under his breath. "I guess I just can't picture you laying on a couch and talking about your feelings,"

"It was an adjustment," Tony admitted as he thought about all the therapists he went through before finding one that he could connect with on the right level. It had been difficult to the point that he'd tried to convince Bruce Banner to take the job. That didn't really work out but it had been good practice. He shook his head at the memory. "It took some time for me to get comfortable in that kind of environment but it was worth it."

"So, you think I should get therapy, too?" Peter inquired with a tired sigh.

Tony nodded his head and placed his hand on his boy's cheek, to encourage him to look at him. "I think it's worth looking into," he said, hoping that the kid would give in. He'd tried to give Peter time to process, adjust and heal on his own with just his support but it was becoming very clear that he needed more than what he could offer him.

The car went quiet ad Peter mulled it all over and knew that even though he was a little nervous about the idea of any sort of intervention coming from a stranger he also trusted his dad. If the man thought that he could benefit from talking to someone then he knew that he should and gave in with a shaky breath. "Okay."

"Okay?" Tony asked, trying to not sound nearly as pleased as he felt. "You'll give it a try?"

Peter smiled at his dad's enthusiasm and leaned into the palm that was still resting on the side of his face. "Yeah, Dad. I'll give it a try."


	27. Day 27- Prompt 12: Therapy

Peter didn't return to school the next day at Tony's insistence. He was, however, back in class by the end of the week. Even though it had been made very clear that distance learning was an option he didn't want that. He wanted to be back in school with Ned and MJ and even Flash because he desperately wanted the routine.

So Tony begrudgingly allowed it but not before talking to the school. He couldn't control what the other students said but he could control how his own kid's reactions were treated. A plan was put in place and Peter had permission to leave class without so much as a nod of his head and go straight to the library or the counselor's office whenever he started to feel himself getting overwhelmed and thankfully Peter took advantage.

The first therapist came to visit the penthouse within days of their conversation but it became clear after a few visits that Peter wasn't working well with them. Tony finally ut his foot when his boy came out of the room they had been using for sessions looking distressed and insisted that they try someone else and was relieved when it didn't take too much convincing to get the kid to agree.

"How did that go?" Tony asked as the latest therapist that Peter had been working for the past few weeks left the penthouse. He assumed things were going fairly well since the kid hadn't looked upset at any point but that didn't mean he wasn't going to check in after each session.

Peter shrugged his shoulders at the question and sighed. "Good, I guess," he said, knowing that he sounded indecisive.

"You guess?" Tony asked with a hint of concern lacing his tone. "Buddy if this isn't the right one either, that's okay. We can go through as many as we need to go through until we do find the person you need."

Deflating slightly, Peter brought one of his hands to the back of his neck and clenched the other around the hem of his shirt. "I- It's just so much trouble and I don't want to-" he began because the truth was he wasn't doing any better with the current therapist than he has the last but he was having trouble bringing himself to admit it. His dad went to so much trouble hire the first two, he felt bad about outright requesting a third.

"You're not a problem. Finding you the right therapist is not a problem. I'll happily hire as many as I need to until you find the person you're comfortable with," Tony replied with mild frustration. He didn't know what it would take to prove to the kid that there was nothing that he would consider an inconvenience. Especially when it came to his well being. "Now tell me the truth, kiddo. This is your third visit with her. How was it."

"I don't like her," Peter finally forced himself to concede. "I feel like she's blaming me and I know that she's not and I'm probably being overly sensitive or something but she- I don't know."

"That's okay," Tony quickly jumped in. He was just glad the kid had told him that he was uncomfortable with the current therapist at all. "All that matters is that you know she's not the right fit for you. I'll find another one," he added with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Every therapist is so different that it's not a stretch that it might take a few tries to find the person who meets you at your level."

"Thanks. I'm sorry I'm-" Peter replied with a relieved yet completely defeated sigh. Though his dad was cutting him off before he could finish his apology.

"-Do not finish that sentence, Pete. You have nothing to be sorry for. This isn't a broken vase or a- forged signature-" Tony said, giving the boy a poignant look at the mention of forged signatures. As funny as that had been at first, it seemed to be becoming a regular thing with the kid. Even after being called out on it. "This is you being honest with me and that's exactly what I asked you to do."

Having been hanging his head low, Peter looked up to face his dad before nodding his head. "Okay. So-sure," he said, nearly slipping up and, once again, apologizing.

With the next week, came a new therapist. Tony had done the same extensive research to find that one as he had the two previous and was pleased when his son reentered the livingroom smiling after the first meeting.

"I think this is the one," Peter said the moment the therapist was out the door.

Giving a skeptical look but smiling, all the same, Tony took the boy by the shoulders and pulled him into a brief hug. "You sure? It's only been one visit," he said but he had to admit that it was nice to hear. The sooner he found they found the right match, the sooner his boy could start getting the help that he needed.

"I know but he's really cool and didn't give me a hard time about being Spider-man," Peter replied without missing a beat.

"The other's did?" Tony questioned with a quirk of his brow.

With a nervous laugh, Peter nodded his head. "Yeah. The first one, he um, he questioned why my parent would allow me to do something so stupid-" Peter started to explain.

"-Is that why you were so upset that day?" Tony interjected before anything else could be said.

"Yes, but I don't want to talk about it," Peter huffed in response. He'd never meant to bring that up. While he didn't mind his dad knowing why he'd not particularly cared about the previous therapist, he'd not meant to ever bring that particular complaint up. It had slipped out.

"-and the last one?" Tony asked with concern.

Accepting his fate, Peter tugged at his sleeves and avoided eye-contact. "She, um, she just gave me this like, patronizing look and I could like, feel her judging me. I hated it," he said before chacing a look at his father's furrowed expression.

"Thank God, for NDA's" Tony grumbled under his breath as he pulled his boy into a tight hug but quickly brought his tone back to something a little lighter. "I'm glad this one is cool with your unique after-school activities but let's not base our choice on that, yeah?"

"I won't. I promise," Peter replied with a genuine smile. "But I really like him so far."

a couple of weeks passed and Peter continued to insist that he was connecting well with the newest therapist and having seen the way his boy interacted with the man as he came and went, Tony was inclined to believe him. That is until after his most recent session left him quiet and irritable.

"Is something wrong, kiddo? Because you've been in a mood since your therapist left. Things still okay on that front?" he asked when the teenager snapped at him when he'd reminded him that he still had homework to finish.

"Everything's fine," Peter grumbled as he threw himself into the chair at his desk and aggressively yanked his books out of his backpack. "but-" he added and then stopped himself. Choosing instead to check his agenda for what pages he was meant to be reading in his history book.

"But, what, Pete?" Tony pressed, unwilling to let that go.

Growling quietly under his breath, Peter slammed his book shut and turned around in his chair so that he was facing where Tony had sat on the bed. "But I don't know how to do what he's asking me to do," he strained.

"Did you tell him that?" Tony asked even though he had no idea what exactly the teenager was talking about. He tried really hard not to pry about what went on during the therapy sessions, only inquiring about his boy's comfort level and not what had been talked about. Any pertinent information was emailed to him later with the kid's permission.

"Yeah but- well, let me explain," Peter frustratedly replied. "He says that I should rewrite the way my nightmares end. That I should give them a positive ending and then write it down. Like, turn it into a story."

Tony cocked his head to the side and tried to figure out where the problem was because his kid was smart. Math and science Where what he excelled in he was really good at damn near everything and writing a story seemed like a fairly basic for him. "What part of that are you having trouble with, Buddy?" he asked, hoping to get more information without further agitating his boy's already foul mood.

"Because it's not just the ending that sucks. It's all of it, Dad! The whole thing is nothing but one big, giant, bad memory, and changing the last five minutes isn't going to make it any better," Peter shouted, his hands flying to his hair as he did so.

"I don't think the goal is to change what happened, Pete," Tonyattempted to soothe. "I think the idea is for you to have something to focus on outside of the bad stuff."

"There is nothing else. It's all bad stuff!" Peter pressed before crushing the pencil he was holding into a pile of splinters and then tossing it all in the trash.

"Alright, Kiddo. I hear you," Tony said with a sigh because he didn't really know what else to say. He wasn't trying to invalidate the kid's feelings. He'd been trying to help. But seeing as all he seemed to have done was make it worse, he decided that he may as well change the subject. "Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"Thai," Peter curtly returned but Tony could see the tension leave his boy's shoulders.

Having already predicted that answer, Tony smiled and ruffled his boy's hair. "Thai it is."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're heading into the home stretch! Only three more chapters to go. You guys still with me? 😂😂


	28. Day 28- Prompt 28: Car Ride

The second dinner had been eaten, Peter disappeared back into his room. Tony considered going to check on him but ultimately decided to give him some space, only cracking his door open to let him know that he was going to be in the lab. Though he was only down there for a maximum of two hours before he heard the door sliding open and turned around to see him boy walking towards him, already in his pajamas. "Hey, Buddy. You look comfy," he said with a smile.

Peter blushed a little at the comment and rolled his eyes in an attempt to cover it. "Yeah, well, I just came down to tell you that I was going to bed," he said from where he'd paused at the doorway.

"It's only-" Tony said, only then realizing that he actually had no idea what time it was. He had to look down at his watch. "-Ten o'clock. You feeling okay?" he asked because it was rare for the teenager to be anywhere near a bed before midnight on a Friday night. Even more so since the nightmares had begun.

Peter rested his head wearily on the doorframe and nodded his head. "I'm feeling fine, Dad. Just tired."

"Alright," Tony replied before crossing the room to place his hand on his boy's forehead. When it didn't feel overly warm he pursed his lips and looked the kid over. He did seem tired and it had been a long day, so he let it go. "I'll be up in a little while. Okay?" he said, though, the underlying question there was, ' _Can you go to get to sleep by yourself tonight'_

"Of course," Peter answered and then awkwardly hovered between turning around to go back upstairs and staying where he was, and Tony seemed to notice because he was looking at him expectantly. "So, um, good-night. I love you," he finally managed before rapidly heading back towards his room where he lay in his bed and stared at the ceiling.

As much as Peter wanted to sleep he couldn't seem to. He tossed and turned and forced his eyes closed only to have them open back up seconds later. He tried everything from listing the states in alphabetical order to reciting pi but he couldn't focus. Therapy had left him contemplating his nightmares and he couldn't seem to stop thinking about them _and_ the assignment he'd been given. The harder he tried to force himself to come up with a happy ending the more frustrated he became.

He didn't know how much time had passed but at some point, he heard footsteps and noticed a shadow hovering by his door. He knew it was Tony and didn't even bother trying to pretend he was asleep when the man finally stuck his head in to check on him.

"You're still awake?" Tony asked when he saw two eyes blinking back at him.

"Can't sleep," Peter muttered and then rolled from his side to his back so that he was staring at the ceiling rather than his dad's reaction.

Tony hummed in response, not really surprised that the kid was having trouble sleeping after such an emotional afternoon. "Too much on your mind?" he guessed, giving the kid to option to tell him as little or as much as he wanted to.

"Something like that," Peter more or less agreed. There was a lot on his mind he just wasn't sure that was what was keeping him awake. Part of him was concerned that after spending a great deal of his evening contemplating his bad dreams that by going to sleep he was begging them to appear.

"What can I do to help?" Tony asked with a soft smile.

"I don't know," Peter replied watching as his dad approached his bed and sat down beside him. Then he felt a hand go straight into his hair, scratching at his scalp and brushing his curls off of his forehead, pulling a contented sigh out of him. "-that's nice, though," he mumbled as he rolled back to his side to give the man better access.

For an hour, Peter lay there, his body relaxed by the constant gentle touches but his brain racing. He let out a small growl of frustration and squeezed his eyes closed. He was just so tired. "Maybe I should just get up and study or something," he tiredly mumbled.

"I don't think that's likely to help you any," Tony said with a sigh. "Do you want me to talk? I can tell you all about the time I tried to teach Happy how to use Face Time."

Ignoring his dad's offer, Peter huffed and made an attempt to sit up. "If I can't sleep I may as well be doing something productive," he griped as his dad placed a hand firmly on his chest and began to urge him back down.

"Resting _is_ productive. Well, it's preemptively productive. You can't do anything effectively if you're exhausted," Tony said, chuckling at the dramatics when his son flipped over onto his stomach and whined incoherently into his pillow. Then an idea struck him. "You know what? I have a plan. Go to the bathroom and just put some shoes on; What you're wearing is fine. Then, meet me in the living room when you're done," he said and then exited the bedroom leaving Peter feeling slightly confused.

While Peter was in his room doing as he was asked to do, Tony went to use the bathroom himself before grabbing a spare blanket out of the hall closet. He'd just slid his wallet and keys into his pocket when the kid sluggishly made his way around the corner.

"Where are we going?" Peter asked with slight concern seeing as he'd been told not to change out of the sleep pants and t-shirt he'd gone to bed in.

"For a drive," Tony replied with a smile before handing over the blanket and slipping a jacket over his shoulders.

"Why?" Peter asked, having gone from concerned back to confused in a matter of seconds.

"To hopefully get Spider-babies to sleep," Tony smirked and then turned towards the elevator that would take them to the underground garage.

"What's got your big brain working so hard tonight?" Tony asked once they had been on the road for several minutes and his boy hadn't so much as leaned his head against the window.

"I keep thinking about what the therapist told me and I just can't seem to figure out how to do what he wants me to do," Peter replied but there was no annoyance or anger in his tone. He was too tired for any of that.

"I suppose can understand that," Tony quietly replied, growing quiet for only a moment before he deciding to bring up something that he'd been pondering while he'd been in the lab earlier that evening. "You know, I think I might have an idea. If you're interested that is."

"What is it?" Peter asked.

"Well, you know that I still have that-" Tony carefully mentioned. He still wasn't sure if what he was about to offer would be helpful or triggering so he tried to choose his words with caution. "The tech that was recovered when we found you," he continued, stopping just long enough to gauge the kid's reaction. When there was none, he let out a breath he'd not even realized he'd been holding. "I was thinking that maybe you could help me go through it. Take it apart and-"

"How is that going to help anything, Dad?" Peter exasperatedly inquired. He wasn't sure what exactly the man thought there was to gain from that. This wasn't a _'face your' fears'_ kind of situation. He had no desire to ever see those kinds of holograms or the technology that had produced them ever again. "I don't want to see it. I don't want anything to do with it."

Even after hearing the aggravation in the teenager's tone, Tony chose to take his chances and continue with his proposition. "I thought maybe we could repurpose it. Make it into something else entirely."

"What does that have to do with my nightmares?" Peter leaned heavily onto the headrest and nearly whined. He was tired and his dad seemed to be dancing around whatever he was trying to get to.

Tony looked out the window at the light rain that was starting to mist the windshield and turned on the wipers before answering. "I thought, well, I thought that could be your new ending. Reclaiming the very thing that was used to torment you and using it for something good. Maybe even helpful," he explained.

"Like what?" Peter asked, surprised by his sudden interest in the project.

"I don't know, kiddo," Tony said, turning to smile at his boy once he'd stopped at a traffic light. "-but if you're willing, we can work together to try and figure that out."

"Yeah, that sounds okay," Peter said, yawning and then leaning his head against the window.

After that, the car went quiet aside from the classical music station that Tony had playing softly in the background. The DJ was droning on and on in near monotone about Taskovski and between that and the lull of the road, Peter was starting to think that sleep could be possible. He pulled the blanket up under his chin and experimentally closed his eyes. He sighed when he found himself unwilling to reopen them.

When tony next looked beside him, he smiled. Peter was softly snoring with his arm supporting his head against the window. Even so, he continued to aimlessly drive around the city for another hour or so before returning to the tower, where he roused the sleepy teenager just enough to get him back into bed. "Have a good sleep, Buddy," he whispered as he leaned down to kiss his boy, who was already back to sleep, on the cheek.


	29. Day 29- Prompt 29: Creating Something Beautiful

A couple of days passed before the potential project was brought up again. It was a Saturday afternoon and Tony had been working in the lab alone for quite a while. The updates he'd been working on had been completed and he was pondering what to do next when his eyes drifted towards the armored door of the vault that held all of his most classified creations- as well as the technology that had been confiscated from Quinen Beck the underground bunker that his son had been held captive in.

With very little thought, he cleared one of his larger work tables and then pulled it out. The first thing he did was transfer the code to his personal server and then clear it from the contraptions processor so that should Peter choose to join him, there would be no way for the damn thing to unexpectedly spring to life and give either one of them a heart attack.

Once he was sure that was taken care of he went back upstairs to the penthouse where he found his boy laying across the couch texting with one hand and eating a bowl of cereal with the other. "It's almost three in the afternoon," he said as he stood in front of the kid with his hands on his hips. "Why are you eating breakfast now?"

"I'm not," Peter replied after he'd slurped down the remaining milk. "That was just a snack. I had leftover lasagna for breakfast."

"Ah," Tony returned, shaking his head in the process. "Makes perfect sense," he added but he couldn't really say anything else on the matter. He'd not eaten breakfast at all. Let alone lunch or any kind of snack. The thought made his stomach gurgle in protest. "I'm going to make a sandwich, and then I was wondering if you wanted to go down to the lab with me get started on the project we talked about in the car the other night," he casually inquired once he'd grabbed the bread and a mostly empty jar of peanut butter out of the pantry.

Peter froze at the question. He'd not forgotten about the aforementioned project, so much as he'd not really taken any amount of time to prepare himself for it and he didn't feel ready. "I- I don't know," he stuttered as his heart started pounding in his chest.

Tony looked up from where he'd been scraping the sides of the peanut butter jar with a knife and peered past the counter towards the couch. "You okay, Kiddo?"

"Yeah," Peter replied with a hard swallow. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Without reply, Tony abandoned his half-made sandwich and crossed back into the living room. "I wasn't trying to pressure you into anything, Pete," he said once he'd taken in the kids closed off posture and heaving chest. "I _do_ think that it might be helpful but it's just an offer."

Looking up through lashes, Peter licked his lips and nodded his head. "No, you're right. I should help," he said, taking a few slow, deep breaths after. "I _want_ to help."

"Alright," Tony cautiously replied. "Let me finish eating and we'll head down here together."

Not quite an hour later, Peter entered the lab behind Tony. He closed his eyes when the huge hunk of metal and wires came into view, only reopening them when he felt a firm grip on his shoulder.

"I'm going to take a look at the brains of this thing. Why don't you investigate the mechanisms? Tear it apart, we can reverse engineer it once we understand it a little better," Tony said softly and watched as the kid carefully approached the workbench.

Peter's first instinct was to tear the entire thing apart without holding back. He could imagine how good it would feel to dig his fingers into the metal and pull it apart before carelessly gutting it, sending its wires flying. But he swallowed back the impulse and carefully removed the outer shell while creating a barrier between what he already knew about the device and what he wanted to learn. Soon enough, he was fully engaged in examining each component, testing various theories, and taking careful notes. 

An hour or so later, when everything was exposed Tony walked over to take a look. "Doing good, Kid?" he asked, immediately taking note that his boy's posture was no longer tense. He seemed to have relaxed into the task and looked to have a pretty good handle on the technology.

"Mm-hmm," Peter distractedly replied as he snapped another wire free so that he could pull a speaker out and set it aside with a few other small parts. "What are we going to do with it?"

Tony sat down in a chair nearby and swiveled slightly back and forth. He'd just finished analyzing the code enough to have a decent idea of what it was capable of. He'd not yet thought about how it could be utilized. "Well, I've been studying the software and I think I've got it figured out. I think with the right input you could project damn near anything, realistically," he gently stated, hoping that his observation wouldn't change the casual atmosphere of the room.

Peter nodded his head and took a deep breath before picking up a few pieces and handing them to Tony for him to look over. "Yeah, uh, there seem to be fans and pulse emitters here to change the physical environment as well," he explained and then immediately dove back into the wires so that he wouldn't have to see the man's reaction.

"Almost like- a really advanced 4-D movie or virtual reality but without the headgear," Tony mused, laughing a little when he heard the kid hum in response. "Maybe we could make it smaller and turn it into a game system," he suggested with a smirk. 

"Or maybe we could-" Peter replied and was right on the verge of sharing the thought that had been going through his head for the last hour but stopped himself before he ever really started. For some reason, he was both fascinated and afraid of his own idea. "Never mind"

"No, no. None of that," Tony said before sliding his chair closer to where his boy was still working. "Maybe we could what."

Dropping his tools onto the desk, Peter sat down in his own chair and chewed on his lip. He was still conflicted about his concept but his dad was looking at him expectantly and eventually he broke. "Maybe we could up- I mean we would still need to make it smaller but maybe we could use it for like, hospitals and stuff," he said all in one breath, realizing instantly that he'd not really elaborated enough for the man to offer a sort of feedback.

For a few seconds, Tony waited patiently to see if the teenager was going to say more. When he didn't he tipped his head to the side and folded his hands in front of him. "How do you mean, Pete?" he asked without judgment.

having said as much as he had already, Peter didn't feel like he could get away with calming up completely so he licked his lips and tried to calm his nerves enough to explain. "Sometimes people get sick or hurt and can't leave the hospital or their beds for a long time. I used to- well, _Spider-man_ used to go visit the children's hospital, and the kids were always talking about where they wanted to go when thet got out. Or about the places they missed visiting. I was thinking that maybe we could _bring those places to them_ ," he said, then looking towards his father with nervous anticipation.

Tony smiled fully and nodded his head. That idea would have never crossed his mind but it sounded fantastic. Therapeutic, even. "I think you might be onto something there, Kiddo," he said and was going to add that he was proud of him for coming up with such a selfless and creative plan but he was being interrupted before he could even begin.

"-But only if we make sure that they understand that it's just pretend and that, that it's for fun and not really real," Peter interjected. He wanted to make people feel better but he most definitely didn't want to trick anyone. Not even if the illusion was pleasant. That was something that was very important to him and he hoped his dad wouldn't think he was crazy for adding that particular stipulation.

Understandingly completely, Tony scooted closer to his boy so that he could look him in the eye. That makes sense, Buddy," he said with a soft smile. "We could create a mandatory start-up sequence that does that every single time it's turned out or switches scenes," 'he said and when the kid looked agreeable he threw out another suggestion. "You could even do the honors if you wanted to."

"M-Maybe," Peter replied with a small smile of his own. He wasn't sure he wanted to see a holographic projection of himself but at the same time, it sounded pretty awesome. If anything, he knew Ned would flip. 

With a purpose seemingly decided, Tony stood up and stretched his arms over his head with a groan, allowing them to then, fall heavily onto his boy's shoulders. "Alright. Outside of perfecting the code and hardware, where should we start to get this off the ground?"

Peter glanced towards the grey hull that had been tossed to the side and then back towards his workbench. "Um, the shell, maybe? I want it to look friendlier," he said, knowing that there were far more important things to work out but for some reason that was sticking out to him at the moment. 

"Let's hop to it then, kiddo!" Tony returned with an enthusiastic clap of his hands. "I'll keep picking apart this brain while you get tighten up the design," he asked and then tossed the kid a pack of colored pencils and graph paper to sketch with. He had no idea where this concept was going to go but it had a direction and the kid looked pleased making that more than enough for him. "Sound good, Kiddo?" 

"Sounds great," Peter returned and set to work drawing out a few plans. As he began he found himself getting excited about the entire endeavor and wondered if it really could turn his nightmares into a happy ending. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This author runs on comments. 
> 
> Even a simple '❤️' or '🤩' is enough to let me know your still reading and that's what keeps me going! 


	30. Day 30- Prompt 30: Recovery

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you believe that November is already over!? I sure can't. It seems to be the only month this whole year that had passed quickly. 
> 
> Thank you all for reading my contribution to Comfortember! If you enjoyed this fic, then I hope you'll go check out some of my others as well. Including, [Secret Sugarplum Spiderling,](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27418564) that I'll be updating tomorrow!

Peter stood on top of the Avenger's tower wearing his Spider-suit for the first time in months. When he'd decided to slip in on, he'd been surprised to find that the spandex tightening around his body had felt good and he'd let out a breath of relief as a result. Then he'd climbed out of his window and scaled to the roof for no other purpose than to enjoy the view of the city. 

As the sun began to set, Peter sat, dangling his legs over the side. He giggled a little when he thought about how much Tony would take seeing him positioned as he was. It always amused him how easily the man could forget what he was capable of. Though he supposed, in fairness, that he'd been a pretty lousy hero as of late. He'd not patrolled one time since the day he'd been captured. But rather than stew in that, he allowed his thoughts to drift towards the project that he and Tony had fashioned together. 

RRES-Q, they had called it. Well, technically they had called it a 'Realistically Rendered Environment System- Qualifier' but that had chosen that name specifically for the acronym. In fact, they had spent an entire afternoon just playing around with names until they had come up with RRES and then shamelessly decided to add 'Qualifier' to the end, just so it could have a cooler name.

They had spent several days working non-stop to perfect their use of the technology before testing it. He'd been nervous at first. Worried that they would flip the switch and something horrible would materialize but, of course, it hadn't. The device had hovered and blinked and then, suddenly, there was an image of himself explaining how it worked in childish terms and introducing the 'safe words' that he and Tony had decided to implement. Once the illusion appeared, anyone in the room could say 'Rescue complete' or shout 'Make it stop!' and everything would immediately disappear only to be restarted by a manual press of a button. He had tested it himself multiple times before deeming it ready to present to anyone else.

It had taken over a month for RRES-Q to be approved and it had been unveiled in a playroom at a local children's hospital. A handful of young patients and their parents had been invited to participate in the highly publicized event. The best part had been watching the children's faces light up with the room had been transformed into a flower-filled back garden. The ceiling was made to look like an infinite sky and the walls were covered with what appeared to be a wooden privacy fence. A false breeze was created and the scent of roses and a freshly cut lawn filled the air. The toys were still there but they looked exactly the same. The orange and blue plastic slide, the chest filled with cars, and the scattered art tables were all still there, they just looked like they were outside rather than inside of a hospital playroom. 

Peter knelt to the floor to show the kids that they could touch the ground and feel that it was just 'pretend' but they all seemed far more interested in how it looked. They sniffed the air and brushed their wind-blown hair out of their faces with delight. Everything was going well,l and there was nothing but happiness in the room. That being enough to allow him to relax as he watched one of the boys chase a butterfly through a small climbing tunnel and laugh when he waved his hand through it, and it turned to pixels.

That had all taken place just a few days prior and he was still smiling about it. One of the articles that had popped up and called him _'a hero, not unlike his dad._ ' He and Tony had gotten a good laugh out of that, seeing as they had no idea how ' _not unlike his dad_ ' he really way. That is what had prompted him to put the suit on, to begin with. Though he'd had no intentions of going anywhere in it. Yet the longer he sat there, the more he itched to swing through the city, and eventually, he couldn't stop himself. He stood upon the ledge leaned forwards allowing himself to free fall for several seconds before shooting a web towards the neighboring building. The rush had been exhilarating, leading him to flip several times as he rounded the tower before landing back onto the roof with a contented sigh. At that moment it was hard to believe that he'd ever been nervous about putting the suit back on.

It only took a few moments of debate for Peter to realize that he was more than ready to do more than just take the suit out for a swing. He was ready to help more people. He was ready to take off on his own and make good use of his powers. However, he wasn't going to take off without saying anything but rather than running inside, he had his AI call his dad, who picked up on the first ring..

"Hey, Dad? I'm going to go out on patrol, is that okay?" Peter asked.

"Of course it's okay, Buddy!" Tony cheerily replied even though there was a tiny part of him that very much wanted to say 'No, absolutely not.' He didn't though, because the kid had been doing so well and he was so proud of him. "Maybe stick with the little guy stuff though. I'm going to need a minute before you jump back into the big leagues," he teased, particularly to give the kid an out if he came across something he didn't feel ready to jump into and partially because he was a little anxious about the idea of his boy going out to literally look for trouble.

Peter readily agreed and then decided to pose the question that had been on his mind since he'd decided he wanted to patrol. "Will you, uh, will you have the baby monitor thingy up?" he asked because as much as he used to fight the constant surveillance, now it felt like a safety blanket. If anything went awry his dad would know it and come to find him.

"Absolutely," Tony assured as if it could have possibly been any other way. "I'll be keeping tabs on all of your friendly neighborhood good deeds. Be sure to pet a dog for me."

"Will do, Dad," Peter laughed, but he had full intentions of telling the very first dog he came across that Iron Man sent his love. "I'll be home for dinner, okay!"

"Sure thing, Spidey. See you at seven. Have fun!" Tony called back but all he got in return was a loud whoop and the click that meant that the call had been disconnected. With a huffed laugh, he ordered FRIDAY to pull up the baby monitor footage so that he could watch it as he worked and when he saw his boy, diving headfirst towards the streets to help a young boy who appeared to be lost he smiled. It had been a long road but things were starting to fall back into place and it finally felt like _everything was going to be alright._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope your satisfied with the ending! ❤️. Than you for reading!!


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